PSNI Fails to Meet FOI Response Deadlines

Last year thePSNIfailed to answer 25% of the FOI requests that it received on time.

The Situation
A recent freedom of information request to thepolice forceregarding how it handles FOI and SAR requests found that of the 1778 requests it received in 2024, only 1335 were responded to in the statutory timeframe.

Response Rates
Theforcewas better at responding to SAR requests and only failed to do so on time 16.5% of cases.

Action Taken
PSNIFOI requests are handled by its Corporate Infomation Branch, which has 25 people working in it, although not all members of staff deal with them. Last year an internal review was conducted on 71 of the FOI requests received and the ICO has advised the force on 18 cases.

PSNI Statement
A PSNI spokesperson said: "The Police Service of Northern Ireland has been closely engaging with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) to address delays in our response to requests received under Freedom of Information and Data Protection legislation. "Corporate Information Branch proactively developed and implemented an Action Plan which was shared with the ICO in April 2024. This plan was published on our external website alongside compliance statistics. "We are committed to meeting our statutory obligations in responding to the public’s requests for information and work is ongoing to ensure that Corporate Information Branch is sufficiently resourced to deal with the increasingly complex nature of the requests we receive; however, as previously acknowledged by the Chief Constable, the nature of our current budgetary situation remains profoundly challenging. "Delays are taken extremely seriously and we will continue working with the ICO to rectify this situation."