FOI 763-2023 / Aug 2023 / UFO sightings
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST REFERENCE NO: FOI-763-2023
I write in connection with your request for information which was received on 16th August 2023 as follows:
I was wondering if you would be able to provide us numbers of how many UFO sightings have been reported to the Warwickshire police over a five-year period? Is there more information on what these were and where they were reported from? Please also give us dates if possible.
Please find the Warwickshire Police response set out below.
Response: Please be advised that there is no identifier within the Command & Control System to identify reports of UFO sightings. Further, UFO / Spaceship sightings would not necessarily be recorded as there is no crime/incident occurring and callers may be directed to other channels such as the Civil Aviation Authority. In order to attempt to determine the number of times such a report has been recorded it would be necessary to review each and every incident log, recorded during the stated period, on an individual basis. This would equate to tens of thousands of logs which would take an inordinate amount of time to review and greatly 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.
However, in order to provide assistance the business area conducted a search of the Command & Control System for where the following keywords are present within the free text of logs recorded between 01/01/2018 to the date of your request:
- UFO
- Alien
- UAP
- Spaceship
- Space_ship
The resulting records were then reviewed to determine whether the caller / informant was making a report in relation to sightings of a UFO. Based, on this keyword search I can advise that there were two records located which would meet the criteria of your request.
However, it is important to note that if there are relevant incidents which have been logged, but where the keyword/s is not present within free text, 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.
|
Year |
Location by Policing Area |
Summary |
|
2021 |
Nuneaton & Bedworth Borough |
Reported seeing a cluster of UFOs hovering in mid air |
|
2023 |
North Warwickshire District |
Reported seeing a dark grey oval shape in the sky with a white haze around it and with a spinning motion at the bottom. |
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