FOI 770-2023 / Aug 2023 / Vehicle thefts
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST REFERENCE NO: 770-2023
I write in connection with your request for information which was received on 17th August 2023 as follows:
Please see below a new Freedom of Information Request for the following total figures & breakdowns, looking at car/motobike/van-thefts between May 2022 – May 2023:
The number of cars, motorbikes, vans stolen in total.
The brand of cars, motorbikes, vans stolen (e.g. Range Rover, Ford, Mercedes)
The colour of cars, motorbikes, vans stole (e.g. Red, blue, white, silver)
Please find the Warwickshire Police response set out below.
Response: Please be advised that the requested information is not centrally recorded and is therefore not held in a readily retrievable format. There is no marker or flag to identify when a crime of Theft of a Motor Vehicle, refers specifically to a car, van or motorcycle, nor to identify the vehicle brand and colour. In order to determine such information, it would be necessary to manually examine each and every investigation relating to the theft of a motor vehicle for the specified period. On average there are more than 1,000 such offences recorded yearly, and, even at a conservative estimate of 3 minutes per record to review 1000 reports, this would equate to 50 hours of work. Therefore, the work involved in locating, retrieving, and recording the information requested exceeds the cost threshold of £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.
In accordance with Section 12(1) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, this letter acts as a Refusal Notice for this request, and, if one question exceeds the limit then this applies to the whole request.
In accordance with Section 16 of the Act, I have a duty to provide advice and assistance; however, I am unable to suggest a way to reduce your request into one which could be managed within the fees limit. I can however advise that it would be possible to provide the overall total number of ‘Theft of a Motor Vehicle’ offences recorded for the period of 1st May 2022 to 31st May 2023, should you wish to revise and resubmit your request.
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