[size=75:29o4kvec]novinite 8 January 2010

Access Info Report: Inconsistent European Police Transparency

A report by Access Info Europe*, the human rights organization, has exposed major variations and problems in terms of European citizens’ access to information from their countries' police forces.

Ireland is the only country in Europe to exclude the police from the scope of its freedom of information law. In Germany, the right to know does not apply to all police forces, and Spain is the largest EU country without an access to information law and so no public right to obtain information from the police.

The updated report, originally published in November 2009, has been re-launched at a conference on police transparency in Dundee, Scotland.

Initial research was inspired by the discovery that, in Scotland, families of those killed by vehicle drivers cannot routinely access information held by the police, in particular police reports or professional witness statements.

Another concern identified by the report is the exclusion of all information relating to criminal or judicial investigations by the police.

In countries such as Belgium, Denmark, France, Italy, Norway and Switzerland, this information falls outside the scope of the access to information law and cannot be accessed, even if a strong public interest in the information is demonstrated.

Problems in accessing police information in practice have been identified in Albania, Armenia, Bulgaria, Poland and Montenegro. Access is often denied through over-broad application of exceptions or the classification of documents.

The Bulgarian Access to Information Program (AIP) has confirmed that the police are included in the Access to information Law, within the wider category of public bodies. AIP reports that in practice there are problems with too little information being made available because exceptions are applied very widely.

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The type of information classified as state secret under Schedule 1 of the Protection of Classisifed Information Act is extremely broad and this is the most used ground for refusal to provide information concerning the police."


A bill amending the current Bulgarian law, with some provisions for opening up access, remains to be considered, AIP stated.

The organisation gave an example of the difficulties of receiving information. A citizen had requested information related to the purchase of two armoured cars by the Interior ministry. The silent refusal of the ministry to cooperate was successfully challenged through the courts.

Another cited example related to access to protocols of police warning. A citizen filed a request to receive the protocols, as was his legal right. The police failed to respond within the stipulated period. Court action via the Bulgarian Supreme Administrative Court was, once again, the only way to obtain the requested information.

The report has not drawn conclusions, but has made recommendations for further research into the subject, and to continue to campaign throughout Europe for increased liberalization of Freedom of Information laws.

Publication of the Access Info Europe report has coincided with news that Interior Minister, Tsvetan Tsvetanov, has stated that the Bulgarian government is looking at the possibility of dispensing with the original interface proposal to monitor internet traffic and mobile phone calls.

*Access Info Europe is a human rights organization dedicated to promoting and protecting the right of access to information in Europe and globally as a tool for defending civil liberties and human rights, for facilitating public participation in decision-making and for holding governments accountable. Access Info's mission is that the right of access to information be enshrined in law and deliver greater transparency in practice.