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FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST REFERENCE NO: 437-2023
I write in connection with your request for information which was received on 20th April 2023 as follows:
Q1: Please can you provide the number of reported dog attacks in your force area in 2022.
Q2: Please can you provide the number of reported dog attacks in your force area for every year since 2010?
Q3: Could you provide me the number of dogs a) seized b) destroyed by your force under the 1991 Dangerous Dogs Act in 2022.
Q4: Please can you provide me with the number of dogs a) seized and b) destroyed for every year since 2010?
Please note that due to changes in systems, information is not held prior to January 2018. Please find the Warwickshire Police response set out below.
Response: Please be advised that not all the requested information is held in a readily retrievable format. Since 2019, Warwickshire Police have utilised a bespoke system to record all dog seizures/destructions, however, prior to 2019, Warwickshire Police did not have a bespoke system that recorded this information. Therefore, to answer Q4 of the request for 2018, it would be necessary to individually review all recorded crimes relating to the Dangerous Dogs Act. The business area has advised that for 2018 there were 268 crimes, and at a conservative estimate of 5 minutes per record, to review and identify whether a dog was seized and destroyed, this would equate to more than 22 hours of work for this part of the request. This would therefore exceed the amount to which we are legally required to respond, i.e., the cost of locating and retrieving the information exceeds the ‘appropriate level’, as stated in the Freedom of Information (Fees and Appropriate Limit) Regulations 2004. For Police forces in the UK, the "appropriate limit" is up to 18 hours of work on one request.
In accordance with the section 12(1) Freedom of Information Act 2000, this letter acts as a Refusal Notice for this part of the request and, if one part of a request exceeds the fees limit, then section 12 of the Act applies to the whole request.
In accordance with Section 16 of the Act, I have a duty to provide advice and assistance in relation to refining your request; however, due to the volume of records involved for the year 2018, I am unable to suggest a way in which this part of your request could be revised to allow the requested information to be retrieved within the fees limit.
Outside of the Act, and as a gesture of goodwill, I have provided the answers to Q1, Q2 and Q3 below, and for Q4, for the years 2019 onwards. Please note that this data was located before it was realised that not all of the information could be retrieved within the fees limit and should not be taken as a precedent that additional information would be supplied outside of the time/fees legislation for any subsequent requests.
Q1 & Q2 response: Due to changes in systems, the requested information is not held prior to January 2018. Therefore, searches were conducted for all offences, recorded between 1st January 2018 and 31st December 2022, classified under Home Office Code (HOCR) ‘8/21 - Owner or person in charge allowing dog to be dangerously out of control in any place in England or Wales (whether or not a public place) injuring any person or assistance dog’.
Offence: 8/21 - Owner or person in charge allowing dog to be dangerously out of control in any place in England or Wales (whether or not a public place) injuring any person or assistance dog |
|
Year |
No of Offences |
2018 |
191 |
2019 |
178 |
2020 |
190 |
2021 |
210 |
2022 |
265 |
Grand Total |
1034 |
Q3 & Q4 response:
Dangerous Dogs |
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
Total |
Seized |
20 |
25 |
29 |
55 |
129 |
Destroyed |
7 |
8 |
8 |
14 |
37 |
Every effort has been made to ensure that the information provided is as accurate as possible.
Your attention is drawn to the below which details your right of complaint.
Should you have any further enquiries concerning this matter, please write or email the Freedom of Information Unit quoting the reference number above.
Yours sincerely
Freedom of Information officer
Freedom of Information Unit
Warwickshire Police
PO Box 4
Leek Wootton
Warwickshire
CV35 7QB