• The Freedom of Information Act came into force in 2005 and encourages organisations to develop a greater culture of openness.
• Avon and Somerset Constabulary employs two full-time information officers in order to comply with the demands of the Freedom of Information Act.
• It’s estimated that the Freedom of Information Act costs Avon and Somerset Constabulary around £185,000, including the cost of staff to manage the queries received.
• The number of requests received annually has now more than doubled from 374 in total in 2005, when the act came into force, to in the region of 770 in 2009.
• Approximately a third of the total Freedom of Information requests received each year by the force have been identified as having come from a member of the media.
• Avon and Somerset Constabulary publishes on its website all its Freedom of Information Act requests and the responses.
• The Constabulary also publishes a wide variety of other statistics on its website.

Avon and Somerset Police are committed to being open, honest and accountable. If you wish to make a request for information through the Freedom of Information Act, please make the request via the online form on the force’s website, which will be dealt with in a timely manner.

Before making the request check that the information required isn’t already on the force’s website, the request hasn’t already been answered or you can’t obtain the information through another means.