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1240/5(5097)
WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR HOME AFFAIRS BY THE DEPUTY OF ST. MARTIN
ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 2nd FEBRUARY 2010
Question
- W ill the Minister inform Members of the numberofproperties, since January 2007, that havebeensearched by the Statesof Jersey Police in connection with the alleged misuseofpersonalcomputersandother electronic devices?
- H owmanysearches, if any, were conducted with the authority of a search warrant?
- H owmanysearches, if any, were conducted without a search warrant,andwhy?
- H owmanypeople, if any, have been arrested as a result ofthesearches?
- H owmanypeople, if any, have been charged with offences in relation tothesearches?
- W hat is the average time that personal computers and other items seized following the searches, are retained by the police?
Answer
Unfortunately, the questions are phrased in such a broad way that it is not possible to provide an answer to them without considerable research. As an example, question (c) would cover all instances of stop and search'.
Initial estimates from the States of Jersey Police are that a manual research of some 9,050 custody records would be needed. It would then be necessary to check these against paper copy warrants and PPCE authorities.
If this information were requested under the Freedom of Information Legislation in the UK, it would undoubtedly be classed as an exempt case. The obligation to comply would be discharged since it would exceed the appropriate expense limit [currently £450], and the information would only be supplied upon agreement to pay the necessary costs incurred in recovering the information.
Given the disproportionate nature of the request, along with the need to balance the use of scarce resources, I would ask the questioner to refine the question to enable me to elicit the specific information sought.