FOI 160 / Feb 2023 / ‘Grindr’ Crimes reported
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST REFERENCE NO: 160-2023
I write in connection with your request for information which was received on 6th February 2023 as follows:
Please could you provide me with the number of crimes reported that include the word "Grindr" (referring to the dating app only) AND whereby the victim of the offence is under the age of 18.
Please provide this information broken down into categories - e.g., rape, sexual activity with a minor, blackmail, etc. - and for EACH of the following years:
2019
2020
2021
2022
Please accept my sincere apologies for the delay in providing the response to your request and for any inconvenience this may have caused. Please find the Warwickshire Police response set out below.
Response: I can advise that the requested information is held; however, it is not suitable for disclosure in the requested format.
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, due to extremely low numbers, providing crime category and year 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 the request for crime category and yearly breakdown. The information I am able to provide is set out below.
One relevant crime was identified for the requested period.
Please note that this information was obtained by searching for all crimes, recorded during the specified period, where the MO Description field contained the keyword ‘Grindr’ or ‘Grinder’. The resulting records were then checked for relevance relating to the dating app.
However, it is important to note that the information provided is dependent upon the search criteria set out above. It is highly likely that there are other offences which fit the scope of your request, but where the keywords have not been set out within the MO description, and these will not have been located and included in the response. For this reason, information captured by way of a keyword search cannot be assumed to be entirely accurate and should be treated with caution.
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