Court Information pack

The purpose of this pack is to bring to your attention changes to the manner the Leicestershire Police deals with the disclosure of information for any purpose other than criminal proceedings. These new arrangements involve changes to the processes by which information is provided and the introduction of new charging arrangements.  The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) has recently circulated a schedule of disclosure charges and the majority of Police Forces within the East and West Midlands are considering the introduction of a standard process for responding to and charging for Police information. 

As part of the discussions regarding the introduction of such charges in Leicestershire, consideration has also been given to the types and extent of information currently requested via Court Orders.  In some instances the Court Orders appear to be requesting information which is not relevant to the proceedings and a considerable amount of policing resources are currently being used to prepare information in order to comply with these Orders. 

Chief Officers in Leicestershire have considered these issues alongside the ACPO disclosure charging schedule and have agreed to implement this charging regime in Leicestershire.  ACPO revise the charges annually; the current charges are enclosed. 

Initially, charging will be introduced in response to requests from private law firms for information relating to civil proceedings including family proceedings. The introduction of charges for Police information is pursuant to Civil Procedure Rule 48.1, the general rule being that the Court will award the ‘non-party’, its costs of the application and its costs of complying with any disclosure Order. This approach was supported by a court in another Force area in January 2011 following a challenge. 

This process will not impact upon the requirement for the police to share or disclose information where this is necessary to protect children or vulnerable adults.

A copy of the new application form to request information for court proceedings can be found by clicking this link