Information Commissioner's Office

Summary: The information requested related to the policing of fans during a football match including any note book entries about the expulsion of two people from the football ground. The Police held no records of this incident but identified the operational order as containing other information on the policing of the match. The request under section 31 (Law Enforcement) on the basis that disclosure would prejudice the policing of future matches. The complainant was concerned with the time taken to deal with his request and that he had not been informed of any internal complaints procedure or of his right to complain on the Commissioner. He was also concerned that the operational order had been withheld. The Commissioner found that there had been some procedural errors and that although some information in the operational order, such as intelligence on football crime and the deployment of police during the match was exempt from disclosure, other information in the operational order should have been released.
Section of Act/EIR & Finding: FOI 1 - Complaint Partly Upheld, FOI 10 - Complaint Not upheld, FOI 17 - Complaint Partly Upheld, FOI 31 - Complaint Partly Upheld