ICO Decision On Bermuda Police Service
Information Commissioner Jason Outerbridge issued Decision 01/2026 regarding the Bermuda Police Service.
A spokesperson said, “On 6 February 2026, Information Commissioner Jason Outerbridge issued Decision 01/2026, Bermuda Police Service, after conducting an external review of the Bermuda Police Service’s [BPS] refusal to disclose whether any records existed relating to an alleged internal investigation involving a named individual. The BPS’s refusal relied on section 38 [non-disclosure of existence of a record] of the Public Access to Information [PATI] Act 2010.
“The purpose of section 38 is to allow a public authority to refuse a PATI request in a way that neither confirms nor denies the existence of records that might be responsive to a PATI request. This can only apply if the records sought are exempt from disclosure and it is not in the public interest to disclose the existence or non-existence of the records.
“In this review, the PATI request named a specific individual and sought records containing personal information of that person. The Information Commissioner found that the personal information being requested would be exempt from disclosure under section 23 of the PATI Act. Additionally, the Commissioner found that there was stronger public interest in maintaining the privacy of the individual and the public trust given to oversight bodies officially tasked with investigating officers’ conduct. The Commissioner was persuaded that oversight bodies are the appropriate mechanism to uphold transparency and accountability for police officers’ conduct. Therefore, it was not in the public interest to disclose the existence or non-existence of records which might reveal personal information.
“The Information Commissioner affirmed the BPS’s decision to refuse to disclose whether records existed, because, if they did exist, they would be exempt from disclosure under section 23 of the PATI Act as they would contain personal information, and the public interest did not favour disclosure of the existence of any such records.
“No further action was required by the BPS by this Decision.”
The full version of Decision 01/2026 follows below [PDF here]:
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