Police told to reassess FOI response

Picture credit: Manx Radio

IOM Constabulary took more than twice the legal time to respond to request

The Isle of Man Constabulary's been told it must reassess its response to a Freedom of Information request after taking more than twice the legally required amount of time to reply.

It's after the Information Commissioner received a complaint for the length of time it had taken police to provide the requested data.

Public authorities are legally required to respond to FOI requests within 20 working days. 

After 32 working days, the applicant sought assistance from the Information Commissioner after not receiving a response. 

The Information Commissioner’s first inquiry into the matter was also not met with a response, therefore sent a second a week later.

The Constabulary responded to the Commissioner, advising of administrative delays and promising the applicant a reply by the end of that week. 

When the reply was not received, the applicant submitted a formal complaint to the Information Commissioner.

On the 50th working day, the applicant received a response but remained dissatisfied. 

The Information Commissioner has since reviewed the case and told the constabulary it must reassess its response.

It's also observed a number of areas for improvement, including assessing its record keeping to make sure information is easily referable and accessible.

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