Freedom of information response

1. When was NATIS formed?

NATIS was established in 2018

2. Who formed NATIS?

NATIS is a service of Thurrock Council and was formed by Thurrock Council employees

3. Who controls NATIS?

NATIS is a service of Thurrock Council

4. Who is NATIS CEO?

NATIS does not have a CEO and falls under the Council’s management structure, which is publicly available on the Council’s website.

5. How many employees do NATIS have?

Data is exempt from disclosure under Section 31(1)(a) FOIA

6. Are the employees police officers?

No

7. What powers do NATIS officers have?

NATIS staff exercise powers under both the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) and the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE)

8. Where do the powers if any the NATIS officers have ie are they statutory or some other powers?

Statutory powers are used to undertake financial investigations.

9. Where does NATIS obtain its funding from?

NATIS is funded by Thurrock Council including a contract with Department for Business and Trade to investigate serious and organised crime affecting the public purse

10. Does NATIS report to HM Government?

NATIS service reports on its performance to the Department for Business and Trade

11. If it does report to HM Government what minister or department is?

NATIS service reports on its performance to the Department for Business and Trade

12. Was NATIS a creation of government?

No

13. Is NATIS a private organisation?

No

14. Who at NATIS overseas complaints?

All NATIS complaints are handled by Thurrock Council Complaints team

15. What policies do NATIS have regarding investigation?

NATIS operates in line with Thurrock Council policies available on the Thurrock Council website. NATIS has operating procedures regarding investigations.

16. Are NATIS prosecutions private prosecutions or does NATIS rely on the CPS?

NATIS case files are submitted to CPS

17. Where does the powers NATIS have to conduct investigations and interviews come from?

Duplicate question. Please see answers to questions 7 and 8.

18. Please can I have copies of all criminal investigations policies that NATIS have for example (not exhaustive) i) disclosure policies, ii) powers to obtain warrants if any iii) interviewing training iv) powers of arrest v) training policies-I can name many more

Data is exempt from disclosure under Section 31(1)(a) FOIA

19. How many employees do they employ?

Duplicate question. Please see answer to question 5

20. Who is the manager/CEO in charge?

Duplicate question. Please see answer to question 4

21. Who created NATIS?

Duplicate question. Please see answer to question 2

22. If they are not a department of the council why does the NATIS web site say they are?

NATIS is a service of Thurrock Council

23. I am trying to find out:
    
    1. how NATIS was created

NATIS is a service of Thurrock Council which was established in 2018

1. 2. who controls NATIS

Duplicate question. Please see answer to question 3

1. 3. who decides their investigation parameters,

Operational decisions of NATIS are made by the service

1. 4. who complaints are made to

The information relating to complaints process is available via Thurrock Council website and can be found here: General complaints | How to complain | Thurrock Council

1. 5. who conducts appeals (for example police complaints have a well-trodden process)

If you are not satisfied after your complaint has been through all stages of our complaints procedure, you can refer it to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman

24. Is there a chief constable equivalent who is in charge of NATIS?

Not relevant as NATIS is not part of the Police.

25. Is there a police authority supervisory body over the chief constable or equivalent?

No, Thurrock Council Chief Executive Officer is responsible to elected members of local authority

In issuing our response the Council has applied S31 (1)(a) Law Enforcement Exemption.

S31 (1)(a) Law Enforcement Exemption of the Freedom of Information Act. 

Information is exempt information if its disclosure under this Act would, or would be likely to prejudice various law enforcement purposes including preventing crime, administering justice, and collecting tax. We are unable to provide the level of detail requested at the current time as we believe that releasing data on number of NATIS staff and copies of NATIS SOPs could potentially invite fraudulent or criminal activity.  

The reasons for the application of this exemption have been captured below under the public interest test section. 

Public Interest Test: 

• Public interest in disclosure: 

• There is a public interest in NATIS to operate in a transparent manner. NATIS has to be properly staffed and follow correct procedures in order to meet the demand placed upon NATIS. Releasing requested information could be seen as reassurance to the public that NATIS is adequately staffed and prepared to investigate fraudulent activities. 

• Public interest to maintain the exemption: 

• Disclosing requested information would damage Council’s interest as it would impact on NATIS’s operational and tactical capabilities to effectively and efficiently carry out investigation of criminal activities.
• Disclosure of information would assist criminals with avoiding detection of criminal activities
• Disclosure of requested information could compromise law enforcement tactics, which may hinder NATIS’s ability to prevent and detect crime and enforce the law and could be detrimental to the effective operation of investigating activities.
• Disclosure of requested information, no matter how generic, which would assist offenders with their criminal behaviour would undoubtedly be a risk to the safety of the public at large and would lead to a loss of confidence in NATIS’ ability to protect the community.  There would be an additional impact on police resources and as such the ability to prevent and detect offences if disclosure of the information allowed an increase in offences to take place.

Based on the above, it is the council’s view that there is a stronger public interest to maintain the use of the exemption for section 31(1)(a) FOIA. The key reasons for this is as follows: 

The council feels the factors in favour of withholding the information outweigh those in favour of publication. The greater public interest is served in maintaining the integrity of the justice process, and this in turn favours maintaining the exemption in relation to the withheld material. NATIS will not disclose information that could compromise the future law enforcement role of NATIS.