| The price of freedom (Forcewide) |  |
ADDED: 7/07/2008 13:52 | Image |  |
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THOUSANDS of pounds are being spent as Avon and Somerset Constabulary fulfills its obligations under the Freedom of Information Act.
The total actual staffing costs of complying with the legislation is currently running at more than £60,000 per year.
Extension to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 came into force on January 1 2005.
The aim was to encourage organizations to publish more information proactively and to develop a greater culture of openness.
If the current trend of FoI requests continues, the number of applications for information in 2008 will have more than doubled since the extensions to the act came into force in 2005.
In 2005 there were a total of 374 requests submitted to the force.
So far, to the end of April in 2008 there have been 253 requests; if that trend continues, it is estimated that there will be 759 requests in total for the year.
More than a third of the total FoI requests each year have been identified as having been submitted by media representatives, although it is possible that the actual number of requests from the media is higher
but the person making the request has not identified themselves as a media source.
The demands of complying with the FoI Act are such that the force employs two full-time information officers.
Around half the time of a senior information officer is also dedicated to FoI and the act also places a demand on the force's information manager.
Many of the questions submitted are statistical.
The force already regularly publishes a wide variety of statistics on its website, www.avonandsomerset.police.uk
And the responses to FoI requests are also published on the website, allowing visitors to search by topic or date, and to view the answers.
The main cost in relation to adhering to the Act is incurred by district and department staff, who have the responsibility of identifying, retrieving and providing the requested information to the FoI team.
Although difficult to quantify with any accuracy, the time expended is considerable.
Some requests can be processed within a few days whereas other, more complex, requests may take several weeks to fully process.
Temporary Assistant Chief Constable Olivia Pinkney said: "As a force we are committed to being open, honest and accountable.
"The provisions of the Freedom of Information Act go some considerable way towards achieving that commitment. But that does come at a price."
"I would urge anyone, and particularly media outlets, considering making an FoI request to first visit the questions and answers pages on the website, as it is possible that someone else may have asked the same question you want to, and the answer you are looking for may already be available.
"We are committed to being open, honest and accountable. We are also committed to delivering an effective, efficient and, most importantly, a value for money, policing service.
"I would hope that our communities, and our local media, would support those aims and would bear this in mind when making FoI requests."
http://www.avonandsomerset.police.uk/LocalPages/NewsDetails.aspx?nsid=13397&t=1&lid=4
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