FOI 885-2023 / Sept 2023 / Indecent images
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST REFERENCE NO: 885-2023
I write in connection with your request for information which was received on 25th September 2023 as follows:
I would like to know the ages of individuals identified as being associated with the watching or sharing of an indecent image of a child in all the visits carried out by your forces specialist online child sexual abuse/ exploitation team.
These teams have different names in different regions but may be called OCSET (Online Child Sexual Exploitation Team) or Polit (Paedophile Online Investigation Team) or similar.
The data is usually sent from the NCA to the regional police team for them to follow through with a home visit.
Please can you send me:
A breakdown by year of how many individuals in total were identified as a perpetrator in connection with an indecent image of a child
How many of these individuals were under 18
if possible a further breakdown by individual age of all those under 18.
- In the year 2023 so far - January to September
- January - December 2020
- January - December 2019
- January - December 2018
Please accept my sincere apologies for the delay in providing the response to your request and for any inconvenience this may have caused you.
Response: Please be advised that the requested information is not centrally recorded and is therefore not held in a readily retrievable format. In order to determine such information it would be necessary to review every referral received, during the stated period, on an individual basis. The business area has advised that it would take approximately 28 hours to review the referrals and such searches would 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.
In accordance with Section 16 of the Act I have a duty to provide advice and assistance; however, due to the number of records which would need to be individually reviewed, I am unable to suggest a way to reduce your request into one which could be managed within the fees limit as it currently stands.
I can advise that we may be able to provide information, within the fees limit, based on offences recorded under HO codes 86/02 ‘Take/make/distribute indecent photographs or pseudo-photographs of children’ and 86/10 ‘Possession of an indecent or pseudo-photograph of a child’, recorded during the stated periods, where a suspect is aged under 18; however, this would not be directly linked to referrals. This would of course be subject to the usual disclosure considerations.
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