LONDON POLICE SERVICES BOARD

The London Police Services Board (the Police) received a request under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (the Act) for access to copies of the statements provided to the Police by the appellant, a named police officer and other witnesses in relation to an incident which occurred on September 1, 2000. As a result of the incident, the appellant made a complaint to the Police about the conduct of a police officer. The Police located the responsive records and granted access only to the appellant’s own statement. Access to the witnesses’ and police officer’s statements were denied pursuant to section 52(3) of the Act.

The appellant appealed the decision of the Police to deny access to these records. During the mediation of the appeal, the appellant narrowed the scope of his request to include only the four-page statement given by the police officer who was the subject of the appellant’s complaint. As further mediation was not possible, the appeal was moved to the adjudication stage of the appeal process.

Initially, I decided to seek the representations of the Police on the application of section 52(3) to this record. The Police made representations which were shared, in their entirety, with the appellant, along with a copy of the Notice of Inquiry. The submissions of the Police refer to both sections 52(3)1 and 3. The appellant also made representations in response to the Notice.