Drones (1053A/22)
Request
Please could you provide me with the following information.
How is drone technology being used within this police force?
How many drones does this police force have?
Which drones are you using?
How many missions have you run with drones this year?
Who oversees your drone operations?
Response
Please find attached our response with regard to the OVERT use of Drones / Unmanned Aerial Surveillance (UAS).
In addition to the attached response West Midlands Police can neither confirm nor deny that it holds any other information relevant to this request as the duty in Section 1(1)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 does not apply by virtue of the following exemptions:
Section 23(5) – Information supplied by, or concerning, certain Security Bodies
Section 24(2) – National Security
Section 31(3) – Law enforcement
Section 23 is a class based absolute exemption and there is no requirement to consider the public interest in this case.
Confirming or denying the existence of whether any other information is held would contravene the constrictions laid out within Section 23 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 in that this stipulates a generic bar on disclosure of any information applied by, or concerning, certain Security Bodies.
Sections 24 and 31 are prejudice based, qualified exemptions and there is a requirement to articulate the harm that would be caused in confirming or denying that any other information is held as well as carrying out a public interest test. Please find this PIT attached (1053A_PIT).