Met HQ Performance & Assurance Information Law & Security Group Information Rights Unit PO Box 57192 London SW6 1TR Telephone: 0207 161 3500 Facsimile: 0207 161 3503 Email: [email protected] www.met.police.uk Your ref: Our ref: 2015050000044 18 December 2015 Dear Mr Merccer Freedom of Information Request Reference No: 2015050000044 I write in connection with your request for information which was received by the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) on 30/04/2015. Your request was as follows: ‘Please name the undercover units since 2000 and the dates they operated’ DECISION The requested information is fully exempt from disclosure subject to the following provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000: Section 17(1) - Refusal notice Section 21(1) - Information accessible to the applicant via other means Section 22(1) - Information intended for future publication REASON FOR DECISION Section 21(1) - Information accessible to the applicant by other means Information accessible to you via other means is as follows: 1) Special Duties Section (SDS) (formerly Special Operations Squad (SOS) and Special Demonstration Squad (SDS)) The Special Operations Squad (SOS) was formed in 1968. Between November 1972 and January 1973 the name attributed to the SOS was changed to the Special Demonstration Squad (SDS). In 1997 the name was again altered to become the Special Duties Section to reflect the unit’s widening remit to include domestic extremism. The unit was closed in 2008. Further information in relation to the SDS can be found via the links below: Operation Herne: Report 1 - Use of covert identities (July 2013) http://www.met.police.uk/foi/pdfs/priorities_and_how_we_are_doing/corporate/operation _herne.v1.pdf Operation Herne: Report 2 - Allegations of Peter Francis (March 2014) http://www.met.police.uk/foi/pdfs/priorities_and_how_we_are_doing/corporate/operation _herne_report2.pdf Operation Herne: Report 3 - Special Demonstration Squad Reporting: Mentions of Sensitive Campaigns (July 2014) http://www.met.police.uk/foi/pdfs/priorities_and_how_we_are_doing/corporate/operation _herne_report3.pdf Operation Herne Terms of Reference http://www.met.police.uk/foi/pdfs/priorities_and_how_we_are_doing/corporate/operation _herne_terms_of_reference.pdf 2) Specialist Operations Crime Covert Operations (SO10) / Specialist Crime Directorate - Covert Policing (SCD10) / Specialist Crime Directorate - Covert Operations (SCD11(10)) / Specialist Crime & Operations - Covert Intelligence (SC&O35) Since 2000, the main MPS unit responsible for undercover policing targeting serious and organised crime has undergone several name changes as a result of structural changes within the MPS. The Specialist Crime & Operations Directorate (SC&O) was formed as a result of the merger of 2 directorates, Specialist Crime Directorate (SCD) and Central Operations (CO) in March 2012. The 2nd Herne report1 states: ‘In 1988 the MPS created SO10, a formalised unit to deploy undercover officers against serious crime.’ (Page 20, paragraph 5.1) 3) CO14 - Clubs and Vice Metropolitan Police Service’s Clubs & Vice Unit deployed UCO tactics to covertly investigate criminality within London’s licensed premises and brothels. Operations were primarily Test Purchase / Foundation level. 4) National Public Order Intelligence Unit (NPOIU) The NPOIU was formed within the MPS in 1999. Governance responsibility for the unit was transferred to ACPO in 2006. In 2011, the NPOIU was subsumed under the National Domestic Extremism Unit (NDEU) within the MPS Counter-Terrorism Command (SO15) in 2011. 1 http://www.met.police.uk/foi/pdfs/priorities_and_how_we_are_doing/corporate/operation_herne_report2.pdf Further information regarding the NPOIU can be found within the HMIC report titled ‘A review of national police units which provide intelligence on criminality associated with protest’2. 5) Directorate of Professional Standards (DPS) Integrity Testing Unit The DPS Integrity Testing Unit’s deployments are managed within the Anti-Corruption section of DPS. 6) SC&O17 - Sexual Offences, Exploitation and Child Abuse Team There are a number of Covert Internet Investigators, now referred to as UC online, working within the Paedophile Unit of SC&O17. 7) SO15 Special Projects Team (SPT) Further information regarding the SPT can be found within the HMIC report titled ‘A review of national police units which provide intelligence on criminality associated with protest - progress review’3 8) National Domestic Extremism Unit (NDEU) The HMIC report titled ‘A review of national police units which provide intelligence on criminality associated with protest’3 states: ‘In January 2011 the Chief Constables' Council, the senior decision-making body for the now replaced Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), ratified the decision for the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) to become the lead force for the National Domestic Extremism Unit (NDEU). The Chief Constables Council’s intention was that the NDEU would continue to conduct undercover operations associated with gathering intelligence on domestic extremism and public order. However, this plan changed as a result of the findings of HMIC’s 2012 inspection. Changes to the NDEU’s structure and remit since the HMIC 2012 report The NDEU restructured in January 2012, and now operates under the umbrella of the MPS Counter Terrorism Command (which is known as SO15). NDEU has also recently been renamed, and is now called the National Domestic Extremism and Disorder Intelligence Unit (NDEDIU): however, to avoid confusion we will continue to refer to the unit as the NDEU in this report. The NDEU’s remit changed at the same time as its restructure and no longer carries out any undercover operations.’ 2 https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmic/media/review-of-national-police-units-which-provide-intelligence-on-criminality- associated-with-protest-20120202.pdf 3 http://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmic/media/national-police-units-which-provide-intelligence-on-criminality-associated-with- protest-progress-review.pdf Section 22(1) (Information intended for future publication) Section 22 of the Freedom of Information Act applies to information that at the time of the request was: held with a view to its publication; intended to be published at some future date, whether determined or not; and in all the circumstances it is reasonable to withhold the information prior to publication. Section 22 is a qualified exemption. Therefore, I am required to consider the public interest. Public Interest Test – Section 22(1) Section 22 - Public interest considerations favouring disclosure Transparency Disclosure would enhance the transparency, openness and accountability of the MPS. The date for publication is yet to be determined Section 22 - Public interest considerations favouring non-disclosure The efficient and effective conduct of the service Consideration of the information is required prior to its public release. Difficulties in extracting the information prior to publication The spending of additional time and public funds may be wasteful Publication is dependent upon the progress of an ongoing criminal investigation and public inquiry Balance Test The requested information is intended for disclosure via the Pitchford Inquiry into undercover policing and is currently being collated for this purpose. Information within the scope of your request is also held as part of Operation Herne, an ongoing investigation relating to the activities of the Special Demonstration Squad (SDS). To the extent that information relating to your request is not in the public domain, the public interest favouring disclosure is strengthened by the fact that a date by which further information will be published has not been set. However, it is pertinent to note that the control of information held for the purpose of an investigation is also important to the effective conduct of an investigation. The College of Policing website contains specific information relating to investigations and communications strategies and states: ‘The way in which investigators manage communications will have a significant effect on the investigation they are conducting. The main purpose of this strategy is to communicate or receive information which assists investigators to progress their enquiries. This can be achieved through internal communications by using colleagues and partners within the criminal justice system and through external communications by using partner agencies and community networks.’4 Furthermore, there are inherent sensitivities regarding information relating to undercover policing. Operation Herne has a broad remit outlined in the Terms of Reference published on the MPS website. The MPS is currently dealing with a number of media enquiries, civil claims and information requests in addition to conducting an investigation and preparing for a public inquiry. Due to the interrelated and ongoing nature of issues relating to the SDS, there is a need for consistency, consultation and a significant overlap in resources. Due to the interrelated, complex nature of the investigation and related matters any information or disclosure should be considered in the context of existing lines of inquiry and/or other information and procedures. To disclose information held with a view to publication on an ad hoc basis, one document at a time, multiple times, whilst related circumstances are subject to change due to the nature of ongoing investigations and procedures are ongoing would require duplication of time,