Key information
Request reference number: 524
Date of response:
Summary of request
Thank you for your Freedom of Information (FOI) request of March 30 to the Mayor’s Office for Policing And Crime (MOPAC). I confirm that your request has been handled under the FOI Act 2000 and that MOPAC does hold some information relating to your request.
You have requested:
On 20 August 2020, this document:
detailed a decision by the Deputy Mayor.
In it she says "2.1. The forensics marketplace remains highly fragile, having suffered 5 critical incidents within a time span of just 3 years."
Please could you specify precisely what the 5 critical events were and which parties were involved in them.
Our response:
Critical event 1 : The collapse of Key Forensic Services (KFS), the third largest FSP in the country, in January 2018. This resulted in a risk of KFS leaving the forensic marketplace imminently in late 2018. This is a matter of public record. This event is referenced in decisions PCD 566 and PCD 801.
Information requested on the remaining 4 critical events has been exempted under Sec 43 (2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. This is a qualified exemption and therefore requires a public interest test to be conducted. Please see this information below.
Section 43 (2) Commercial Interests Section 43(2) exempts information whose disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the commercial interests of any legal person (an individual, a company, the public authority itself or any other legal entity).
Public interest considerations favouring disclosure:
- There is a general public interest in disclosing information that promotes accountability and transparency in order to maintain confidence and trust in public bodies, such as the MPS.
- Increasing the transparency of how police operations are conducted could improve public confidence regarding the effectiveness and efficiency of policing operations.
- Disclosure could provide the public with an understanding that public funds are and have been used appropriately.
Public interest considerations favouring non-disclosure
- There is a public interest in protecting the commercial interests of MOPAC and ensuring it is able to compete fairly in a commercial environment. Disclosure of information may cause unwarranted reputational damage to MOPAC which may in turn damage its commercial interests. In addition, the disclosure of this information could harm MOPAC’s ability to participate successfully in future sales/purchases/negotiations.
- Revealing this particular commercially sensitive information now may cause other parties in the future to question whether MOPAC is able to maintain confidentiality of such information.
- This information could damage the commercial reputation of parties involved, consequently damaging future relations and trust between MOPAC and relevant organisations for whom would not expect this information to be disclosed.
Balance Test
There are factors favouring both disclosure and non-disclosure. The main factor favouring disclosure is openness and accountability; however, the impact of this factor is diminished due to the factors favouring non-disclosure outlined above. As such, it is my decision that the public interest at this time lies substantially in favour of non-disclosure as to release the information would prejudice the commercial interests of MOPAC.
If you are unhappy with the response to your Freedom of Information request, please see the MOPAC website on what the next steps are at: