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FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST REFERENCE NO: FOI-746-2023
I write in connection with your request for information which was received on 11th October 2023 as follows:
1) Please can you state for theft offences recorded by your force, the number in which the crime report text (described as modus operandi reports by many forces) contains a mention of "watch" and/or "watches" in each of the following calendar years:
iii) 2021
2) Please can you provide a redacted copy of the free text crime reports for these offences recorded by your force in between April and June 2023.
Please find the Warwickshire Police response set out below. The information was obtained by searching, as requested, for all theft offences where keyword(s) ‘watch’ and/or ‘watches’ are present within the MO Description and/or Incident Summary free text fields. The resulting records were then reviewed for relevance and any false positives removed where the word ‘watch’ appears but does not relate to the theft of a watch, for example ‘went to watch the football’.
However, when reviewing the information, please note that keyword searches are not carried out routinely as they are not reliable. They will only bring back records where the chosen keyword(s) is present within the MO Description / Incident Summary of an investigation. These are limited free text fields and, even if relevant, the keyword may not be present within those fields. Therefore, the information provided cannot be assumed to be an accurate representation and should be treated with caution. The only way to determine whether any offences of theft involved a watch being stolen is to examine the wider investigation and case documents for every relevant crime. This would take an inordinate amount of time which would exceed the cost threshold (£450), which equates to 18 hours work at a standard rate of £25 per hour, as stated in the Freedom of Information (Fees and Appropriate Limit) Regulations 2004.
Q1 response:
Year |
Total |
2019 |
92 |
2020 |
56 |
2021 |
42 |
2022 |
56 |
2023 |
43 |
Grand Total |
289 |
Q2 response: Section 17 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 requires Warwickshire Police, when refusing to provide such information (because the information is exempt) to provide you the applicant with a notice which:
(a) states that fact,
(b) specifies the exemption in question and
(c) states (if that would not otherwise be apparent) why the exemption applies.
The exemption applicable in this case is:
Section 40(2) Personal Information
Section 40 is an absolute class based exemption, which does not require evidence of the harm disclosure would cause and does not require consideration of a public interest test. That being said, where Section 40(2) is engaged, in order to make the exemption absolute there needs to be evidence that a Data Protection Principle would be breached by disclosure.
This exemption is engaged where disclosure of information relates to personal data of a third party or could lead to the identification of an individual, either from that information alone or combined with any other information from within the Police Service or public domain. In this case, taking into consideration the short timeframe of April to June 2023, providing copies of the MO Descriptions / Incident Summaries, even in a redacted format, is likely to lead to the identification of an individual. Such a disclosure would breach individuals’ rights under the Data Protection Act 2018, in particular Article 5(1) of the GDPR which states that personal data shall be processed lawfully, fairly and in a transparent manner in relation to the data subject.
This letter serves as a refusal notice under Section 17 of the Freedom of Information Act in relation to information being provided in the format requested.
In the event that redactions were undertaken to negate the harm involved, then the information provided would not make sense and would be lacking in context. Therefore information I am able to provide is set out below and is based on a summary of the text fields.
Summary |
An unknown person entered the store and stole a watch. |
Inf reported has been burgled and items taken including numerous watches. |
Inf reporting believes suspect has taken items from property including a watch. |
Inf reporting watch has gone missing whilst out and assumes missing or stolen. |
Inf reports unknown offender has stolen a watch from a bag. |
Inf states been broken into and items stolen including a watch. |
Inf states that an unknown person has attended their property and when they have left the inf has noticed that items were missing including a watch. |
Inf reporting items stolen from vehicle including a watch. |
Inf reporting items stolen with vehicle, including a watch. |
IP has noticed a watch is missing from their property and person known to IP has taken it. |
Offender/s unknown have entered premises by unknown means and taken numerous watches. |
Offender/s unknown have gained access to properties and taken items including a watch. |
Reported being broken into and various items had been taken, including a watch. |
Suspects have entered closed premises and taken items including a watch. |
Unknown offender/s have forced entry to the building and stolen items including a watch. |
Unknown offenders have entered the property by unknown means and taken property including watches. |
Victim reporting that a watch has been stolen from within their property following persons having been in property. |
Victim reporting watch missing and believes it has been taken from their premises. |
Victim reporting watch removed from them by another without knowledge. |
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