FOI 287/25
REQUEST
- In the target period from 1.1.24 to 31.12.24 how many times has your force carried out a targeted operation to see if drugs have been present at either a (i) licensed premises or (ii) a football stadium.
By this I mean an operation to check if drug residues have been left behind at a building or facility indicating that drug taking has gone on at the venue at some date in the past.
- If so please state the (i) venue where the tests were carried out, (ii) the area within the venue where the tests were carried out and (iii) details of the types of drugs that were detected/or if no drugs were detected.
RESPONSE
We consulted with our 3 BCU’s (Basic Command Units); CAV (Cardiff & the Vale), SNPT (Swansea, Neath, Port Talbot) & Mid Glamorgan who have provided the below response to your request.
SNPT & Mid Glamorgan BCU’s
There were no targeted drug operations conducted by SNPT & Mid Glamorgan BCU’s during the requested time frame.
CAV BCU
30 licensed premises were inspected by Police licensing officers for drug residue in Cardiff and the Vale BCU from 7th October 2024 to 18th December 2024. The officers used a device called a Rapiscan drug itemiser to test various services for traces of drugs. The type of licensed premise inspected were – ‘typical’ Pubs, wet led licensed premises outside the City Centre.
Out of the 30 premises inspected, 29 (96.6%) had residue of Class A Drugs found within inside the premises. The areas tested at premises were consistent for each premise, and they included – male, female and disabled toilets, bar area, smoking areas, darts/pool areas and gaming machines. Residue of the Class A drug, Cocaine was in all 29 premises, with a few venues also having traces for ‘Spice’ and Heroin.
South Wales Police licensing department is committed to work with the premises to reduce Class A misuse within their venues. The findings were shared with the licensees during the inspection, and advice was given to premises to assist with tackling the use of drugs. Work is currently ongoing with the licensees to address the issues, and retests are currently in the process of being carried out at all 30 premises that were initially tested.
Your request for the names of the venues searched has now been considered and I am not obliged to supply the information you have requested.
In relation to your request, the following exemptions apply:
Section 31(1)(a)(b) - Law Enforcement
Section 40(2) - Personal Information
Section 31(1) is a qualified, prejudice-based exemption and the legislators accept that there may be harm if released. The authority is therefore required to articulate the harm that may be caused and consider the public interest arguments for and against the disclosure of the information.
Section 40(2) is an absolute class-based exemption and therefore the authority is not required to consider the public interest in disclosure.
Overall Harm
A disclosure in response to a Freedom of Information request is not a disclosure to the individual applicant but a release into the public domain. It is important that a Police Force safeguards its effective and efficient service and does not disclose information that could undermine that.
South Wales Police works close with these types of premises to reduce the use of drugs within the venues. The force relies on their partnerships with these venues to assist with the reduction and prevention of this type of crime. Venues would be less willing to cooperate with the police if they fear being publicly named. Publicly naming these venues would cause reputation damage and as a result they would be less likely to work with the police in the future.
Factors favouring Section 31
By disclosing the requested information, this would provide openness and transparency and better awareness to the public.
Factors against Section 31
The Police Service has developed strong partnerships with these venues, by releasing their names would lead to loss of trust, a breakdown of the partnership and as a result this would compromise law enforcement. The security of the public is of paramount importance and South Wales Police Service will not divulge information if to do so could compromise our effective service in reducing and preventing crime.
Balance Test
Whilst there is public interest in police transparency, there is stronger public interest in safeguarding information which could assist those who wish to disrupt the police service.
Therefore, it is our opinion that for these issues the balance test lies in favour of withholding the information.
Section 40(2) - Personal Information
Section 40(2) is an absolute class-based exemption and therefore the authority is not required to consider the public interest in disclosure.
The Data Protection Act covers processing of personal data about a living individual. Personal data means data which relate to a living individual who can be identified-
- from those data, or
- from those data and other information which is in the possession of, or is likely to come into the possession of, the data controller or any other person in respect of the individual.
Information will “relate to” a person if it is about them, linked to them, has some biographical significance for them, is used to inform decisions affecting them, has them as its main focus or impacts on them in any way.
If we disclosed these details, this would provide significant detail which could identify an individual and would breach the first principle of the Data Protection Act 2018.
In accordance with the Act, this letter acts as a refusal notice for this part of your request.