Open Government Unit
Room 410
Abell House
John Islip Street
London SW1P 4LH
( 020 7217 5113
4 020 7217 5150
vicky.rushton5@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk
Your ref:
Our ref: 3714
Date:25 August 2006
Ms Helen Oliver
oliver@helenelizabeth.freeserve.co.uk
Dear Ms Oliver
Under the Freedom of Information Act you asked about
‘I would be grateful if you could inform me of the number of absconders there has been at Prescoed between 2004 and present day.
Could you also advise on the category of prisoner who absconded?
The length of time each prisoner was missing
And a description of formal/informal processes which takes place with regard to dealing with an absconder together with particular detail to the advising the communities surrounding Prescoed.’
Your request has been handled in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000 as a request for information.
Under section 12 of the Freedom of Information Act, the Home Office is not obliged to comply with any information request where the prescribed costs of supplying you with the information exceed £600. The £600 limit applies to all central government departments and is based on work being carried out at a rate of £25 per hour, which equates to 3½ days work per request. Prescribed costs include those which cover the cost of locating and retrieving information, and preparing our response to you. They do not include considering whether any information is exempt from disclosure, overheads such as heating or lighting, or disbursements such as photocopying or postage.
We hold the information in which you are interested, but have estimated that the cost of answering your request would exceed the £600 limit and we are therefore unable to comply with it. Although your request would at present be too costly to answer, if you refine it so that it falls under the cost limit we will consider it further. It may help if I explain that whilst the figures on absconds from the prison are held in order to ascertain the length of time they were missing we would need to locate which prison each absconder is now located and check their personal files. You should however be aware that if you break your request down into a series of smaller requests, we might, depending on the circumstances of the case, decline to answer if the aggregated cost of complying exceeds £600, as permitted by the Fees Regulations.
However whilst we are unable to proceed with your request in the current format we have, to be helpful, included a table giving details of the total absconds for establishments including Prescoed where all absconds would have been Category D. I can also state that Prescoed follow contingency plans to inform the surrounding communities in the case of an abscond. There are contingency plans for non sex offenders, sex offenders and failures to return. A formal cascade system is set in motion whereby 5 members of the local community are contacted to cascade information.
If you are dissatisfied with this response you may request an independent internal review of our decision by submitting your complaint to:
Information Policy TeamHome Office4th Floor, Seacole Building2 Marsham StreetLondonSW1P 4DF
Email: info.access@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk
During the independent review the department’s handling of your information request will be reassessed by staff who were not involved in providing you with this response.
Should you remain dissatisfied after this internal review, you will have a right of complaint to the Information Commissioner as established by section 50 of the Freedom of Information Act.
I realise that this reply may be a disappointment to you, but I look forward to hearing from you again shortly should you wish to refine your request.
Yours sincerely
Vicky Rushton
Assistant Information Manager
RESPONSE FROM HELEN :8th September 2006
Many thanks for your response Vicky it is much appreciated, I understand how difficult it can be dealing with FOI requests
With regard to refining the information would you for the table provided be able to indicate the Grand total of days absent for the total number of absconders?
I think that would suffice for now.
I was quite surprised to hear about the formal cascade of information approach as opposed to using an automated BT relay message to all registered persons as this would ensure all were being vigilant and were able to assist Police in recognizing these people as I’m aware that the financial burden on the Gwent Constabulary can be high with the last double absconder issue costing in excess of £8K plus just in pure overtime costs of officers let alone helicopter charges and the fact that officers are being deployed from other duties .
Would you be able to suggest the correct member of staff to speak to concerning the alert systems in place currently Vicky?
Once again my sincere thanks
Helen Oliver
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1 comment:
It seems incredible to me that in 2006 the mentally handicapped are lumped together with the criminally insane, as they are here. If they had a voice for themselves, surely they would not choose this!
I would have no concerns if Aderyn was to be used purely for the mentally handicapped, but to mix possible murderers etc with them, and within yards of a primary school, a nursery school and an after school club is just plain stupid. Whilst there is undoubtedly a need to house such people surely this should be done at a location that is away from children and other vulnerable people.
This is definitely a case of money speaking clearer than plain common-sense. Perhaps our laws will one day be changed to ensure the "human rights" of the majority, rather than the minority, but I fear this may only happen after more horrific incidents force the government's hand. Until then the government are content to let for-profit concerns, like Partnerships in Care take over from the Health Service, and put local communities in fear and danger.
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