Freedom of Information

We (bereaved families) all hoped that the new legislation under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 would provide the means whereby bereaved families could access police reports into their loved ones death.

 However:
(a) Freedom of Information is “public” information and
(b)There are class exemption clauses in the Act; so the Act in itself has done nothing to promote transparency in crash investigations to bereaved families.

Nonetheless it is a fact that Police and Fiscal services are public services bodies, Government funded and in this respect are subject to scrutiny under the Act. It is also fair to say that the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act is not static and can evolve with time and public interest.
 
SCID has been fortunate to meet David Goldberg, a champion of FOI in Scotland. We related our concerns, to David, regarding the lack of information afforded to families bereaved by road crashes from Police and Procurator Fiscal Services. We were confused with the publication schemes of the Scottish Police Forces which stated that: “Even where information is withheld it may, in many cases, be possible to provide copies with the withheld information edited out”. We had no knowledge of this ever being the case following fatal road crashes and carried out our own researches by using the Act to request information from police forces in England, Scotland and Europe.

Around this time the Centre for FOI at Dundee University had launched its inaugural seminar to promote discussions and exchange of ideas on specific aspects of Freedom of Information. David suggested that this may be an avenue to present our research together with that of Access Info Europe, an international human rights organisation, on the topic:
Policing, the Public Interest and Freedom of Information.
It all came together on 26th November 2009. The Keynote address was presented by David Goldberg on FOI and Policing: The Scottish Experience. Our thanks to David for his massive effort and to the FOI Centre at Dundee University and the participants for their input.

Research Projects -
Family’s Access to Police reports following a Fatal Road Crash.

(1) Comparison of English and Scottish Police Forces in accessing information.

Thanks to Joyce for carrying out this major research project.
Joyce contacted all 39 English and 8 Scottish Police Forces to ask the following questions under FOI.

a. I wish to know how many requests under the Freedom of Information Act the Force has received for police reports, including crash investigators reports, in relation to road traffic collisions involving a fatality between 2005 to the present day inclusive. I refer to requests from, for example , a member of the immediate family of someone who has been killed in a collision, but excluding routine requests from ‘official bodies’ such as government departments, insurance agents or solicitors.

b. Of these requests, how many have been released and how many have been turned down?

c. If the Force would usually release the police reports to a requestor, such as a member of the immediate family, under ‘normal business’, please would you indicate that this is the case and advise me, if possible, of the number of requests the Force has released under the procedure.

The revealing full text or the replies can be accessed at:
http://www.centrefoi.org.uk/portal/images/Dundee_Police_FOI_Responces_Nov_09.pdf

Or for hard copy contact Margaret.

In summary: Families bereaved by road crashes in Scotland are not afforded the opportunity to view the case file or pay for the police report as in a number of constabularies in England.

(2) Variations in access to police information across Europe that could be obtained by bereaved families following road traffic collisions.

SCID wishes to thank Brigitte Chaudhry, President of FEVR (European Federation of Road Traffic Victims) and Amy Aeron Thomas, Executive Director at RoadPeace for their help in accessing the above information.

(3) Right to Know - Europe and the Police.

This significant research project was carried out by Access Info Europe, an international human rights organisation, based in Madrid, which works to promote a strong and functioning right of access to information in Europe and globally.

The introduction to the research project states: “The police is a body which is run with taxpayers’ money and exercises considerable power over the lives of members of the public. It is therefore a body which merits close public scrutiny to ensure that it is being effective in maintaining law and order and fighting crime.
This research report has been motivated out of concerns in Scotland that some information held by police about routine policing matters is not available to the public. Campaigning groups have raised concerns about issues such as family members not being able to get police documents relating to drunk-driving traffic accidents in which their relatives died. The issue here is not sensitive information about the fight against organised crime or counter-terrorism operations, but the need to secure access to day-to-day information about primary police functions. This information is necessary to ensure that police forces are fully accountable to the public they serve.”

The full report can be accessed at:
http://www.access-info.org/en/civil-liberties/61-europe-and-the-police or
http://www.centrefoi.org.uk/portal/images/Right_to_Know-Europe_and_the_Police.pdf

Families bereaved by road crashes seek transparency and information
e.g. police reports, to help them deal with their grief.