Alan Jenkins v The Information Commissioner & Anor

Facts

The appellant, Alan Jenkins, sought information from the Northern Ireland Prison Service, acting through the Department of Justice (Northern Ireland), concerning the use of X-Ray Body Scanners in the Northern Ireland prison estate. The scanners had been introduced in or about March/April 2023 as part of a strategy to prevent drugs, prohibited articles and other contraband entering prisons, internal concealment being regarded as a significant trafficking method. On 26 October 2023 the appellant's representatives requested three categories of statistical information: the number of occasions on which the scanners had been used, the number of positive scan indications, and the number of occasions on which contraband was subsequently recovered following a positive indication. The Prison Service disclosed the total number of completed scans — 5,866 between March and October 2023 — but withheld the figures for positive indications and subsequent recoveries, relying on section 31(1)(a), (b) and (f) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Following an internal review the appellant complained to the Information Commissioner, who in Decision Notice IC-282786-T7V3, issued on 13 May 2024, concluded that the exemption was engaged and that the public interest favoured maintaining it. The appellant appealed to the First-tier Tribunal under section 57 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, contending that disclosure would promote transparency and accountability and that the issues extended beyond his own circumstances to a wider cohort of prisoners returning from temporary release.