Lancashire Police officer crime figures 'should be known'

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-33654291

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Lancashire Police have been criticised for not disclosing information about officers who have broken the law.

The force said it was too busy to answer a Freedom of Information (FOI) request for statistics about officers convicted of crimes since 2012.

"The public has a right to know," former Assistant Police and Crime Commissioner Saima Afzal told the BBC.

"It does seem to be a weak reason for not giving the figures. I would have wanted this information."

Only 20 out of 45 forces provided figures in response to the Press Association's FOI request, with some citing the costs involved.

A statement from Lancashire Police said: "Unfortunately we were unable to respond to the request in the allocated time frame due to the high demand on the relevant department who would provide this type of data."

Ms Afzal, a campaigner against honour killing who was also a member of the former Lancashire Police Authority, lost her job as Assistant Police and Crime Commissioner in a restructuring exercise last year.

The FOI figures reveal 309 officers were convicted of offences in three years across 20 UK forces.