|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Document
|
|
MO-1467
|
|
|
|
|
|
Institution/HIC
|
|
London Police Service
|
|
|
|
|
|
Summary
|
|
NATURE OF THE APPEAL: The London Police Service (the Police) received a request under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (the Act ) for access to: any and all information your department [the London Police Service] has on file pertaining to myself... including any documentation relating to background investigations, occurrence reports, Provincial/Federal charges, criminal history and any other records/reports, under the authority of the Act . In a decision dated June 2, 2000, the Police divided the request into two parts. Firstly, they advised that no records exist pertaining to occurrence reports, Provincial/Federal charges, criminal history and any other reports. Secondly, they advised that information pertaining to background investigations is excluded from the operation of the Act under section 52(3) of the Act . The requester appealed the Police's decision to exclude records under section 52(3), and a file was opened at this office under Appeal Number MA-000201-1. During the mediation stage of the appeal, the Police withdrew their reliance on section 52(3), and agreed to issue a new decision letter to the appellant regarding access to the responsive records. Accordingly, a Mediator's Report was issued and this office closed Appeal MA-000201-1. The Police subsequently issued a decision on November 14, 2000, granting partial access to some of the records requested. Access to the remaining records (approximately 97 pages) was denied under the following exemptions contained in the Act : sections 8(1)(c) and (g) and 8(2)(a) - law enforcement; section 9(1)(d) - relations with other governments; section 10(1) - third party information; sections 14(1) and 38(b) - invasion of privacy; section 38(a) - discretion to refuse requester's own information; section 38(c) - evaluative or opinion material. The requester (now the appellant) appealed the Police's decision to deny access to the remaining records and this office opened Appeal Number MA-000201-2. During the mediation stage of the appeal, the Police issued a revised decision raising the application of the discretionary exemption in section 7 of the Act (advice or recommendations) to deny access to portions of the records. The revised decision was made within the 35-day period allowed for the late raising of additional discretionary exemptions during the appeals process. The Police also provided the appellant with an index of records, along with the revised decision. Also during mediation, the appellant advised that he no longer sought access to 87 pages of the records at issue, and narrowed the scope of his request to include only the background investigation report (8 pages) and two intelligence documents (2 pages). As further mediation was not possible, the matter was moved into the Inquiry stage of the appeal process. Initially, I provided the Police with a Notice of Inquiry soliciting their submissions with respect to the exemptions claimed. The Police provided me with representations which were then shared, in part, with the appellant. I withheld portions of the submissions of the Police from the appellant because of concerns I had regarding the confidentiality of them. The appellant also made representations in response to the Notice. DISCUSSION: PERSONAL INFORMATION The personal privacy exemptions referred to in section 38 apply only to information which qualifies as "personal information", as defined in section 2(1) of the Act . "Personal information" is defined, in part, to mean recorded information about an identifiable individual, including the individual's name where it appears with other personal information relating to the individual or where the disclosure of the name would reveal other personal information about the individual [paragraph (h)]. The Police submit that the records contain the personal information of the appellant and other identifiable individuals. I find that because all of the records relate to the evaluation of the appellant by the Police, they contain his personal information, as that term is defined in section 2(1) of the Act . In addition, each of the records, with the exception of page 94, also contain the personal information of other identifiable individuals. EVALUATIVE OR OPINION MATERIAL Section 36(1) of the Act gives individuals a general right of access to their own personal information held by a government body. Section 38 provides a number of exceptions to this general right of access. The Police submit that all of the records, with the exception of Record 94, are exempt from disclosure under the discretionary exemption found in section 38(c) of the Act . This section states: A head may refuse to disclose to the individual to whom the information relates personal information, that is evaluative or opinion material compiled solely for the purpose of determining suitability, eligibility or qualifications for employment or for the awarding of contracts and other benefits by an institution if the disclosure would reveal the identity of a source who furnished information to the institution in circumstances where it may reasonably have been assumed that the identity of the source would be held in confidence; For a record to qualify for exemption under section 38(c), the Police must satisfy each part of the following three-part test: the personal information itself must be evaluative or opinion material; the personal information must be compiled solely for the purpose of determining suitability, eligibility or qualifications for employment or for the awarding of government contracts and other benefits; disclosure of the personal information would reveal the identity of a source who furnished information to the Police in circumstances where it may reasonably have been assumed that the identity of the source would be held in confidence. [Order 157] I have reviewed the records and the circumstances of the appeal, and am satisfied that the
|
|
|
|
|
|
Legislation
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Subject Index
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Published
|
|
Sep 19, 2001
|
|
|
|
|
|
Type
|
|
Order
|
|
|
|
|
|
<<
Back
|
|
|
|
Back to Top
|
 |
|
|
|
© Copyright
2013
Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario. All Rights Reserved.
|