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FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST REFERENCE NO: 714-2023
I write in connection with your request for information which was received on 02/08/2023 as follows:
Q1 How many instances of parcel theft (i.e. parcels stolen from somebody’s doorstep, or other cases where thieves steal a package, for example by impersonating a delivery person or homeowner) were reported between the following dates (NOTE: If the request will be too time-consuming, please share the most recent cases first)?
Q2 If possible, can you share the number of reported instances of parcel theft (i.e. parcels stolen from somebody’s doorstep, or other cases where thieves steal a package, for example by impersonating a delivery person or homeowner) by month for each of the date ranges provided in question one or, if this is not possible, any data that would make it possible to calculate this?
Q3 If possible, can you share either the total reported value of stolen parcels for the date ranges provided in question one or, if this is not possible, any data that would make it possible to calculate this?
Q4 If possible, can you share the most common time of day when parcels were stolen (using the date ranges provided in question one) in the following format, or, if not possible, any data that would make it possible to calculate this?
Q5 If possible, can you share the most common age of the people reporting theft (for the date ranges provided in question one) in the following format, or any data that would make it possible to calculate this?
Please find the Warwickshire Police response set out below.
Response: Please be advised that there is no identifier on the crime recording system for theft of parcels and, in order to attempt to determine the number of times where this has been a factor, it would be necessary to examine all offences under Home Office code 49/10 – ‘Theft if not classified elsewhere’, recorded between 1st August 2022 and 31st July 2023, on an individual basis. This would take an inordinate amount of time which would 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.
In accordance with s12 (1) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, this letter acts as a Refusal Notice for this request.
In order to provide assistance the business area conducted a keyword search of all ‘Theft if not classified elsewhere’ offences for ‘parcel’, ‘post’, ‘letter’, ‘mail’. The resulting records were then reviewed to eliminate any false positives – such as ‘theft of a gate post’, and to ensure that a parcel was either stolen from a doorstep/outside an address, or where the homeowner had been impersonated. This information that was retrieved has been provided as a gesture of goodwill; however, it is important to note that in the event that there are relevant offences recorded, but where the keywords are not present within the MO description/ summary, then these will not have been returned within the search. For this reason information retrieved by way of a keyword search cannot be assumed to be entirely accurate and should be treated with caution.
Q1 response:
Year |
Total |
01/08/2022-31/07/2023 |
179 |
Grand Total |
179 |
Q2 response:
Year/Month |
Total |
2022 |
|
August |
19 |
September |
20 |
October |
16 |
November |
18 |
December |
33 |
2023 |
|
January |
17 |
February |
8 |
March |
7 |
April |
6 |
May |
11 |
June |
10 |
July |
14 |
Grand Total |
179 |
Q3 response: Please note that in 100 of the offences recorded for Q1 & Q2, a value is not stated within the MO Description; however, the total value across the offences where a value is recorded is £14,627.46.
Q4 response: The time of an offence is recorded between two given times, e.g. if a victim was at work from 9am-5pm and the parcel was stolen while they were out. If no time is given then midnight (00:00:00) is the default time. For the response the earliest time of the offence has been used; however, this is not often accurate as, due to the nature of such offences, the specific time of theft is not always known and is sometimes recorded as the time in which the crime was reported, not when the crime occurred. As mentioned, 00:00:00 is the default time and 40 of the 179 crimes were recorded as happening at this time.
Time |
Total |
00:00:00 default |
40 |
09:01:00-17:00:00 |
113 |
17:01:00-22:00:00 |
12 |
22:01:00-09:00:00 |
14 |
Grand Total |
179 |
Q5 response:
Year |
Most common age group of person reporting a parcel theft |
01/08/2022-31/07/2023 |
35-44 |
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