COVID-19 isolation breaches

Summary

The Isle of Man Constabulary responded to a request for data on COVID-19 isolation breaches by providing weekly statistics on reported events and the specific actions taken, such as arrests, warnings, or no further action. The authority clarified that not all initial reports resulted in confirmed breaches and detailed that four cases proceeded to court, with two resulting in imprisonment.

Key Facts

• Data covers the period from the week commencing 20 July 2020 to the week commencing 7 September 2020.
• A total of 92 events were opened as reported Covid-19 incidents, but only 57 were closed as confirmed regulations breaches.
• Six of the reported breaches were identified as duplicate reports of individuals already being dealt with.
• Outcomes included 10 arrests, 3 investigations, 4 warnings, 15 officer visits, and 10 instances where no breach was found.
• Four cases went to court, two of which resulted in imprisonment while two remain live.

Data Disclosed

• 92
• 57
• 10
• 3
• 4
• 15
• 6
• 20 July
• 7 September
• 1472805
• 15 September 2020
• 17 September 2020

Original Request

Following a police media release surrounding a 'rise in reported isolation breaches', can the Constabulary please provide: i) the number of reports made to police regarding suspected isolation breaches, broken down by week since w/c Monday, 20 July; ii) for each reported breach, what action was taken (i.e. No Action Taken/Officer Visit/Warning/Prosecution); iii) After further investigation no such breach was found to have existed.

Data Tables (1)

Full Response Text

Isle of Man Constabulary Freedom of Information Police Headquarters Dukes Avenue Douglas Isle of Man IM2 4RG

Our ref: 1472805 17 September 2020

Dear ###

We write further to your request which was received on 15 September 2020 and which states:

"Following a police media release surrounding a 'rise in reported isolation breaches', can the Constabulary please provide: i) the number of reports made to police regarding suspected isolation breaches, broken down by week since w/c Monday, 20 July; ii) for each reported breach, what action was taken (i.e. No Action Taken/Officer Visit/Warning/Prosecution); iii) After further investigation no such breach was found to have existed."

Our response to your request is as follows: I have detailed below the information that is being released to you. The quantity of reports of self-isolation breaches for this analysis was collated from the Police incident reporting system. It should be understood that each event recorded has two descriptions of what the event concerns: 1. The Opening type (i.e. what is being reported), and 2. The Closing type (i.e. what was determined to be the type of event by the end of the event, and can be split into more detailed event descriptions). The Opening Type can be quite general, and sometimes is not borne out as the best description after an event is investigated. For all Covid-19 related events the opening type is simply Covid-19, and this can cover Covid-19 related breaches, disturbances, social-distancing or isolation issues. Which of these is the case is only recorded by the closing type detailed description.

It can also happen that events opened with a different type can be closed as Covid-19. So not all reported Covid-19 events necessarily relate to a report of a suspected self-isolation breach. All events closed as a Covid-19 breach were reviewed and outcomes in table on following page assigned. Six events proved to be separately reported suspected breaches by individuals already being dealt with on another report.
Whether an arrest or investigation resulted in a prosecution required further analysis of a different system. All event outcomes of Arrest resulted in Investigations, these, together with the events with outcome of Investigation, were researched. Most of these resulted in a Non-Court Disposal of No Further Action. Four cases went to court, two of which are currently still live, and two have resulted in imprisonment. 20 Jul- 26 Jul 27 Jul- 02 Aug 03 Aug- 09 Aug 10 Aug- 16 Aug 17 Aug- 23 Aug 24 Aug- 30 Aug 31 Aug- 06 Sep 07 Sep- 13 Sep Total Opened as a Reported Covid- 19 event 12 11 15 9 21 11 3 10 92 Closed as Covid-19 Regulations Breach 5 9 10 5 13 7 3 5 57 Arrest 2 1 3 2 1 1 10 Investigation 1 2 3 Warning given 2 1 1 4 Officer Visit & Advice Given 4 1 2 2 2 1 3 15 No Further Police Action 2 1 4 1 1 9 No Breach 1 2 3 2 2 10 Action taken for breach reports Duplicate report 2 1 1 1 1 6 Please quote the reference number 1472805 in any future communications.

Your right to request a review

If you are unhappy with this response to your freedom of information request, you may ask us to carry out an internal review of the response, by completing a complaint form and submitting it electronically or by delivery/post.

An electronic version of our complaint form can be found by going to our website at https://services.gov.im/freedom-of-information/Review . If you would like a paper

version of our complaint form to be sent to you by post, please contact me and I will be happy to arrange for this. Your review request should explain why you are dissatisfied with this response, and should be made as soon as practicable. We will respond as soon as the review has been concluded.

If you are not satisfied with the result of the review, you then have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner for a decision on; 1. Whether we have responded to your request for information in accordance with Part 2 of the Freedom of Information Act 2015; or 2. Whether we are justified in refusing to give you the information requested.
In response to an application for review, the Information Commissioner may, at any time, attempt to resolve a matter by negotiation, conciliation, mediation or another form of alternative dispute resolution and will have regard to any outcome of this in making any subsequent decision. More detailed information on your right to a review can be found on the Information Commissioner’s website at www.inforights.im. Should you have any queries concerning this letter, please do not hesitate to contact me. Further information about freedom of information requests can be found at www.gov.im/foi.

I will now close your request as of this date.

Yours sincerely