ICO Decision On PATI Request To Govt House
Information Commissioner Gitanjali Gutierrez issued Decision 17/2023 in regards to the Office of the Governor.
A spokesperson said, “On 5 July 2023, Information Commissioner Gitanjali Gutierrez issued Decision 17/2023, Office of the Governor [Government House]. The Decision considered Government House’s refusal of a request made under the Public Access to Information [PATI] Act 2010 for a report on misconduct claims against the former Commissioner of Police.
“The Information Commissioner agreed with Government House that the report is exempt under section 30[1][a] of the PATI Act, because its disclosure could reasonably be expected to prejudice the effectiveness of the procedures for an investigation on the conduct of a Commissioner of Police, as set out in the Police [Conduct] Orders 2016.
“The Information Commissioner acknowledged that there were compelling arguments in favour of the disclosure of the report, such as the status of the former Commissioner of Police as Bermuda’s most senior police officer and the allegations of gross misconduct that suggested an abuse of authority. But she found that these arguments were premised on beliefs that the report was submitted to the Governor on completion of an investigation against the former Commissioner of Police and that the record would shed light on the former Commissioner of Police’s conduct and further accountability. The Information Commissioner’s Decision clarified that this was not the case. The responsive report was an update from the investigator to the Governor at an early stage in the discontinued investigation and not an investigation report as referred to in Order 17 of the Police Conduct Orders.
“The Information Commissioner upheld Government House’s internal review decision on the relevant PATI request and did not require Government House to take further action in relation to the Decision.”
The full version of Decision 17/2023 follows below [PDF here]:
Read More About
Category: All
