REF1732 - Crown Prosecution Service - ref Retail Loss Prevention - April 2009

[Amethyst]

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT REQUEST

Dear Ms Coleman,

Thank you for your request which I received on 16 April 2009. In that request, you ask for details of an alleged agreement between the Crown Prosecution Service and Retail Loss Prevention (RLP).

I have referred to their website which you kindly supplied, and having reviewed the site there does not appear to be any relationship at present between the CPS and RLP. However, ACPO, who are a separate organisation, have offered their assistance and have guidelines in place with RLP concerning their operating procedures for Civil Recovery.

If you wish to contact ACPO requesting further information regarding their involvement with RLP, you can do so by submitting an enquiry form located on their website: www.acpo.police.co.uk. Please note ACPO are not a public authority and therefore are not bound by the Freedom of Information Act.

If, however, you would like for the CPS to pursue your request, please can you supply further clarification as to why or how you came to believe the CPS may have been entered into an agreement with RLP, as this will assist us with making further enquiries internally and confirming whether such an agreement has taken place.

Please note that if I do not receive appropriate clarification of your information requirements within two months from the date of this letter, then I will consider your request closed.

Yours sincerely,

Miss R Baverstock
Information Management Unit
Crown Prosecution Service
17 April 2009

[Amethyst]

Re: REF1732 - Crown Prosecution Service - ref Retail Loss Prevention - April 2009

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT REQUEST

Dear Ms Coleman,

Thank you for your email dated 17 April 2009 and the links you provided to the articles in relation to the alleged CPS involvement with RLP.

I can confirm that having made enquiries with our HQ Policy Directorate and Business Development Directorate, the CPS is not aware of any agreement with RLP and therefore does not hold the information requested.

As mentioned in my previous correspondence, you may wish to contact ACPO (www.acpo.police.co.uk) requesting further information regarding their involvement with RLP, however please note ACPO are not a public authority and therefore are not bound by the Freedom of Information Act.

Alternatively, you may wish to make enquiries with RLP concerning their involvement with any other agencies and Government Departments.

If you are unhappy with the decisions made in relation to your request from the Crown Prosecution Service you may ask for an internal review within two calendar months of the date of this letter. If you wish to request an internal review, please contact the Freedom of Information Unit (Appeals), 50 Ludgate Hill, London, EC4M 7EX.

If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:
Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Yours sincerely,

Miss R Baverstock

[Amethyst]

Re: REF1732 - Crown Prosecution Service - ref Retail Loss Prevention - April 2009

2 June 2009
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT REQUEST

Dear Ms Coleman,

I refer to your email dated 18 May 2009, in which you ask the CPS to confirm the following statement given by ACPO:

‘The CPS have agreed that where a civil claim is to be raised against an ''offender'' NO criminal compensation will be claimed in the Criminal court.’

Please note the Freedom of Information Act entitles you to recorded information held by a public authority. Requests that seek comment or opinion, such as this, fall outside the remit of this Act.

However, I can confirm that the CPS is not responsible for determining the compensation in criminal cases, this falls outside the remit of the Department and is a matter for the Courts to decide. Furthermore, the CPS has no involvement in civil cases.

Please note the Freedom of Information Act is a public disclosure regime, not a private regime. Any information disclosed under it is thereafter deemed to be in the public domain, and therefore freely available to the general public.

If you are unhappy with the decisions made in relation to your request from the Crown Prosecution Service you may ask for an internal review within two calendar months of the date of this letter. If you wish to request an internal review, please contact the Freedom of Information Unit (Appeals), 50 Ludgate Hill, London, EC4M 7EX.

If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:
Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Yours sincerely


Charlotte Keen
Information Management Unit
Crown Prosecution Service