Police vehicle details (FOI)

Request

A

How many Police vehicles are in the current fleet 2022, 2023 make model and J Reg to be included?

B

How many vehicles in the fleet have been damaged? Explaining how the driver was at fault and details of insurance claim?

C

How many Police officers drive without a valid driving licence?

D

How many police collisions have occurred since 2012 including careless driving when the "pants" van collided with a bollard at Police headquarters?

Response

A

The current fleet comprises 16 marked vehicles. 

The disclosure of make and model and vehicle registration numbers of marked vehicles is exempt from disclosure under Article 42 (a), (b) and (c) of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 and therefore disclosure is declined.  

All details of the number and types of unmarked police fleet vehicles are also exempt.

B

Please see attached table for Police vehicles reported as damaged.

Table.pdf

C

No police officers are authorised to drive police vehicle unless they have a valid driving licence. 

D

The total number of reported collisions involving police vehicles since 2012 is 165. It should be noted that police officers are required to report all incidents of damage, including, for example, minor scratches. 

Article applied

Article 42 - Law enforcement

Information is qualified exempt information if its disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice –

(a) the prevention, detection or investigation of crime, whether in Jersey or elsewhere;

(b) the apprehension or prosecution of offenders, whether in respect of offences committed in Jersey or elsewhere;

(c) the administration of justice, whether in Jersey or elsewhere;

Public Interest Test

Disclosure of full information on the fleet, including but not limited to full vehicle registration numbers could be of intelligence value to a person or persons with criminal or malicious intent. Full disclosure could provide and enable targeted malicious actions. 

Although vehicle registration numbers are an overtly displayed marker that can be clearly seen and are intended to be seen, to disclose a ready-collated list of vehicles with complete vehicle registration numbers would be substantially more harmful than the limited availability of related information via the visibility of vehicles whilst on public roads. In practice, all of this information is not realistically accessible to a member of the public and is therefore not in the public domain.

Providing full details of vehicle registrations numbers for marked vehicles provides opportunities for criminality to benefit, or for risks to be extended to members of the public:

• Decommissioned police vehicles can be sold at public auction and will re-appear in domestic use, usually driven by members of the public. Lists of vehicle registration numbers (even if out of date), may potentially expose unaware members of public to direct challenge and or risk of harm.
• Detailed vehicle information will potentially enable a criminal gang to understand the force’s capability, through the volumes and types of vehicles being operated; for example numbers of armed response vehicles comparative to other models.
• Revealing details of police registration numbers could enable the cloning of vehicles that could provide a level of credibility to a driver. 

Additionally, law enforcement tactics and operational capability could be compromised with the disclosure of details and numbers of unmarked vehicles, as those who wish to commit criminal acts would be more aware of what vehicles may belong to the force in a covert role. Such a disclosure could allow those with criminal intent the ability to use this information to undermine law enforcement. This places the community at increased unnecessary risk of harm.

Factors favouring disclosure 

• There is a legitimate public interest in the public being satisfied that the police force has up-to-date and well-maintained vehicles to deliver services to the public when and where required.

Factors favouring non-disclosure 

• Disclosing information that would allow the identification of all vehicles may reveal what resources are available for a given role and this information could enable police strength to be determined and circumvented by those intent on committing crime.  The release of this information could therefore provide a tactical advantage to offenders which could negatively impact on public safety and undermine the policing purpose.
• Disclosing the details of covert vehicles could provide sufficient information to those involved in criminal activity of the capabilities available to the force when carrying out covert activities and could result in the destroying of evidence and could also lead to vehicles and officers being identified which would render their covert capabilities useless.

Balance Test

• It is not in the public interest for law enforcement tactics and operational capability to be compromised with the disclosure of police vehicle registration numbers as those who wish to commit criminal acts will be more aware of the vehicles in operation to assist with preventing and detecting crime. 
• Such a disclosure that would allow those with criminal intent the ability to build up a picture of force capabilities and resources which could be used to undermine law enforcement. This would not be in the public interest. 
• Disclosure is also not in the public interest as it places the community at increased unnecessary risk of harm and impacts on police resources.