Proceeds of Crime

1. Can you tell me how much has been frozen under the Proceeds of Crime Act in the last two years (calendar year or financial year - whichever you hold information for)

2. Can you tell me how much has been seized under the Proceeds of Crime Act in the last two years (calendar year or financial year - whichever you hold information for)

3. Can you tell me what the single largest amount of assets seized by your police force is - with details about who it was taken from and what crime they had been prosecuted for, according to the records held by your force

4. Can you tell me what the single smallest amount of assets seized by your police force is - with details about who it was taken from and what crime they had been prosecuted for, according to the records held by your force

In accordance with section 1 (1) (b) of the Act our response is provided below;

Please note: that for ease I have numbered your questions.

1. To obtain this information would require a manual search of all our records and this it is estimated would exceed the appropriate limit. The appropriate limit is defined in the Data Protection and Freedom of Information (Fees and Appropriate Limit) Regulations 2004, which is covered by statutory Instrument Number 3244 of 2004. Furthermore, Section 12 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 allows a public authority to refuse to respond to a request for information where the cost of compliance would exceed the appropriate limit as defined by the above mentioned regulations.

2. In the following financial years Cheshire Constabulary has seized the following under the Proceeds of Crime Act:

2009/10 to present - £361,076.16
2008/09 - £716,499.98
2007/08 - £465,651.80

3. £1,310,688.55 is the largest confiscation order, the crime linked to this confiscation is money laundering.

4. £1 is the smallest amount, linked to this confiscation is drug dealing.

3 & 4. In relation to the names of offenders Section 17 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 requires the Cheshire Constabulary, when refusing to provide such information (because the information is exempt) to provide you with a notice which a) states that fact, b) specifies the exemption in question and c) states (if that would not otherwise be apparent) why the exemption applies.

Section 40(2) Personal data of third parties is exempt if disclosure would breach the Principles of the Data Protection Act 1998, in this instance it would be principle 1, which states that personal data shall be processed fairly and lawfully. In such circumstances this is also an absolute exemption.

Any information to which a request for information relates is also exempt information if -

(a) it constitutes personal data which does not fall within subsection (1), and
(b) either the first or the second condition below is satisfied>
(3) The first condition is:-
(a) in a case where the information falls within any of paragraphs (a) to (d) of the definition of "data" in section 1(1) of the Data Protection Act 1998, that the disclosure of the information to a member of the public otherwise than under this Act would contravene:-
(i) any of the data protection principles, or
(ii) section 10 of that Act (right to prevent processing likely to cause damage or distress), and
(b) in any other case, that the disclosure of the information to a member of the public otherwise than under this Act would contravene any of the data protection principles if the exemptions in section 33A (1) of the Data Protection Act 1998 (which relates to manual data held by public authorities) were disregarded.
(4) The second condition is that by virtue of any provision of Part IV of the Data Protection Act 1998 the information is exempt from section 7(1)(c) of that Act (data subject's right of access to personal data). The information you have requested is the personal data of both yourself and a third party and to release personal data would breach the principles of the Data Protection Act 1998 and would be unlawful (S40). Please see my comments at the end of this letter regarding accessing personal data.