mysociety/whatdotheyknow-theme — Issue #25: police authorities get too many requests not meant for them 
Author: robinhouston
Created: 2012-01-25 18:31:30+00:00
State: open
Labels: admin, Imported from whatdotheyknow, volunteer

**confirmordeny opened this issue June 10, 2011**

Many of our users are confused about the difference between police forces and police authorities. Police forces are the operational side of policing from the 'bobby on the beat' to the Chief Constable and all of the administrative/IT/HR support that goes with it. The police authority carries out an oversight role, it will hold minutes and papers in relation to its own meetings and contact details for police authority members but very little else.

We need to add this text or similar to all the police authorities:

"A police authority is an independent body made up of local people, it's their job to set the strategic direction for the local police force and hold the chief constable to account on behalf of the local community. If you need to make a FOI request on operational police matters for this local area please address your request to the police force."

(volunteer task, non-coding)