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FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST REFERENCE NO: 933-2023
I write in connection with your request for information which was received on 10th October 2023 as follows:
Q1. The number of officers and staff who have been subject to a disciplinary procedure including hearings and meetings between 2020 and 2022
Whether those officers are, or identify as, male or female
The results of such proceedings
Q2. The number of officers and staff who have been subject to a disciplinary procedure due to a report of sexual misconduct between 2020 and 2022
Whether those officers are, or identify as, male or female
The results of such proceedings
Q3. The number of officers and staff who have been reported for domestic abuse between 2020 and 2022
Whether those officers are, or identify as, male or female
The results of such proceedings
Q4. The number of reports of sexual assault and/or sexual violence made between 2017 and 2022
The number of those reports which led to an arrest
The number of those reports which led to a person or persons being charged
The number of those reports which resulted in a trial
The results of those trials
Q5. The vetting procedure used to check police staff including how and when checks are made and who carries out those checks.
The investment in such procedures between 2017 and 2022
Q6. The Violence Against Women and Girls Taskforce, led by the National Police Chiefs’ Council, has required all forces to review live VAWG allegations involving police officers and staff, including domestic abuse.
How many cases have been reviewed by Warwickshire Police as a result of this requirement?
When and how are they reviewed and by whom?
Whether those officers involved in such reviews are, or identify as, male or female
Were any cases re-opened following such a review?
Q7. How much money has been and is being spent on the professional standards unit at Warwickshire Police between 2017 and 2022?
How many officers have worked and are working in the professional standards unit at Warwickshire Police between 2017 and 2022?
Whether those officers are, or identify as, male or female
Q8. How often is refresher training relating to behaviour given to officers and who delivers it?
Q9. How is the Reflective Practice Review Process (RPRP) carried out and by whom?
Can you confirm that the RPRP is not a disciplinary process?
Clarification
On 11th October 2023 a request for clarification was sent to you as follows:
With regard to the following questions posed:
Q4. The number of reports of sexual assault and/or sexual violence made between 2017 and 2022
The number of those reports which led to an arrest
The number of those reports which led to a person or persons being charged
The number of those reports which resulted in a trial
The results of those trials
I would be grateful if you could please clarify the following:
- Since there is no specific offence of ‘sexual violence’, please can you confirm that where you have requested ‘reports of sexual assault and/or sexual violence’ you require information based on rape and sexual offences?
- Due to system changes it is not possible to provide information for complete years for this element of your request prior to 2018, are you happy to receive information for 2018 to 2022?
- Due to the crime recording system (reports) and custody system (arrests) being separate, in order to provide information of the number of individuals arrested in direct correlation with the number of reports, it would be necessary to cross reference each and every offence against the custody system. Due to the number of offences which will be returned in relation to reports, this would take an inordinate amount of time and would be above 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.
We could however provide one of the following options:
(In this case the information will be standalone in that arrests and charges will not be in direct correlation with the offences).
Or
(In this case the charge information will correlate with the reports (investigations) but will only reflect the most serious outcome for any suspect attached to a crime, ie, if there are multiple suspects attached to an investigation, the outcome would not take into account ‘lesser’ or like outcomes of any other suspect(s). With regard to the arrest information, this would need to be withdrawn.)
Or
(In this case this would be a combination of the previous options in that the charge information will correlate with the reports, but the arrests will be standalone information in relation to the number of arrests made for relevant offences during those years).
On 11th October 2023 you provided the below clarification:
Yes please, rape and sexual offences.
Yes, we are happy to receive information from 2018 to 2022.
This option please:
(In this case this would be a combination of the previous options in that the charge information will correlate with the reports, but the arrests will be standalone information in relation to the number of arrests made for relevant offences during those years).
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: Please be advised that some of the requested information is not centrally recorded and is therefore not held in a readily retrievable format.
In order to determine the information requested in Q1, Q2 and Q3, it would be necessary to manually review each, and every case recorded for the specified period, first for relevance and then to locate and record the requested information. Following a scoping exercise the business area has advised that there are a total of 363 records for this period and that it would take approximately 5 minutes per case to review. An estimate of the cost involved for this work is set out below:
363 cases @ 5 minutes per case = 30.25 hours
30.25 hours @ £25 per hour = £756.25
Furthermore, in order to determine a response for the part of Q4 that asks, ‘the number of those reports which resulted in a trial’, it would be necessary to manually review each and every ‘Rape’ and ‘Other Sexual Offence’ investigation, recorded for the specified period, with an outcome of ‘charge’. The business area has advised that there are 469 investigations that fall into the scope of this part of the request, and that it would take approximately 3 minutes per record to review. An estimate of the cost involved for this work is set out below:
469 records @ 3 minutes per case to review = 23.45 hours
23.45 hours @ £25 per hour = £586.25
Total cost:
£586.25 + £756.25 = £1,342.50
Therefore, the work involved in determining the information requested, exceeds 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.
In accordance with Section 12(1) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, this letter is a Refusal Notice for these parts of the request, and, if one or more parts of a request exceeds the fees limit, then Section 12 of the Act applies to the whole request.
In accordance with Section 16 of the Act, I have a duty to provide advice and assistance in relation to refining your request. I can advise that it may be possible to retrieve some information for the remaining parts, should you wish to submit a new 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