FOI 150-2024 / Feb 2024 / Under 18s
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST REFERENCE NO: 150-2024
I write in connection with your request for information which was received on 5th February 2024 as follows:
Where all of the following conditions apply:
- financial year 2021/22
- the offence code was in use by Warwickshire during the timeframe
- one or more victims is under 18 at time of incident
please state, per offence code, how many of the following crimes were recorded by Warwickshire, broken down by crime outcome code (1-22), and whether the victim was under 18, 18 and over, or where victim age is unknown:
- Abduction (Home Office offence codes: 02500, 02501, 02502, 02503, 02504, 02505)
- Soliciting by a man (Home Office offence codes: 02700)
- Abuse of children through prostitution and pornography (Home Office offence codes: 07100, 07101, 07102, 07103, 07104, 07105, 07106, 07107, 07108, 07109, 07110, 07111, 07112, 07113, 07114, 07115, 07117)
- Trafficking For Sexual Exploitation (Home Office offence codes: 07200, 07201, 07202, 07203, 07204, 07205, 07206)
- Abuse of Trust - Sexual Offences (Home Office offence codes: 07300, 07301, 07302, 07303, 07304, 07305, 07306, 07307, 07308, 07309, 07310, 07311, 07312, 07313, 07314, 07315, 07316, 07317, 07318)
- Gross Indecency with Children (Home Office offence codes: 07400, 07401, 07402)
- Obscene publications etc and protected sexual material (Home Office offence codes: 08600, 08601, 08602, 08603, 08604, 08605, 08606, 08607, 08608, 08609, 08610, 08611, 08612, 08613, 08614, 08615, 08616, 08617)
- Miscellaneous Sexual Offences (Home Office offence codes: 08800, 08801, 08802, 08803, 08804, 08805, 08806, 08807, 08809, 08810, 08811)
Please accept my sincere apologies for the delay in providing the response to your request and for any inconvenience this may have caused you. Please find the Warwickshire Police response set out below.
Response: I can advise that the requested information is held; however, not all is suitable for disclosure in the format requested. 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 the information broken down by number of offences, offence outcomes and ages of victims, even in an uncorrelated format, is likely to identify an individual and provide information in relation to that 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 breakdown requested. Instead, where the number of offences is 5 or less (excluding zero), these have been amalgamated to show a total for all the relevant offences.
When reviewing the information please note the following:
- Searches were conducted for all offences under the Home Office codes listed, recorded in 2021/22 and where there is a victim attached to the crime and where one or more victims is under 18 at time of incident. Where any offence has more than one victim then ages for all victims are shown within the data.
- Please note some of the offence codes listed in the request do no match up to offence codes used in 2021.
- Outcomes only show the most serious outcome for any suspect attached to a crime. In the event that there are multiple suspects attached to a crime, this does not take into account ‘lesser’ or like outcomes of any other suspect(s).
|
Number of Offences recorded in 2021/22 where one or more victims are aged under 18, by offence code |
|
|
Offence Code |
Total |
|
071/10 |
9 |
|
071/17 |
9 |
|
086/02 |
22 |
|
088/09 |
11 |
|
071/01, 071/08, 073/07, 073/10, 086/10, 088/01, 088/02, 088/05, 088/10 |
15 |
|
Grand Total |
66 |
|
Outcomes of offences recorded in 2021/22 where one or more victims are aged under 18, by offence code |
||||||||||
|
Offence Code |
Type 1 |
Type 12 |
Type 14 |
Type 15 |
Type 16 |
Type 18 |
Type 20 |
Type 21 |
Type 22 |
Total |
|
071/10 |
|
|
|
8 |
1 |
|
|
|
|
9 |
|
071/17 |
1 |
|
1 |
1 |
1 |
5 |
|
|
|
9 |
|
086/02 |
|
|
1 |
3 |
8 |
2 |
1 |
6 |
1 |
22 |
|
088/09 |
|
2 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
3 |
|
|
|
11 |
|
071/01, 071/08, 073/07, 073/10, 086/10, 088/01, 088/02, 088/05, 088/10 |
1 |
|
1 |
6 |
2 |
4 |
1 |
|
|
15 |
|
Grand Total |
2 |
2 |
5 |
19 |
15 |
14 |
2 |
6 |
1 |
66 |
Outcome Types:
- Type 1 - Charged/Summonsed/Postal Requisition
- Type 1A - Charged/Summons - alternate offence. Offender has been charged under the alternate offence rule.
- Type 12 - Prosecution Prevented-Named Suspect Identified But Is Too Ill (Physical Or Mental Health) To Prosecute, or confirmed died either before crime reported or before enough evidence to charge
- Type 14 - Evidential Difficulties Victim Based- Suspect Not Identified: Crime Confirmed But The Victim Either Declines Or Unable To Support Further Police Investigation To Identify The Offender/Summonsed/Postal Requisition
- Type 15 - Named Suspect Identified: Victim Supports Po
- Type 16 - Named Suspect Identified: Evidential Difficulties Prevent Further Action: Victim Does Not Support (Or Has Withdrawn Support From) Police Actionlice Action But Evidential Difficulties Prevent Further Action
- Type 18 - Investigation Complete; No Suspect Identified. Crime Investigated As Far As Reasonably Possible-Case Closed Pending Further Investigative Opportunities Becoming Available
- Type 20 - Further action resulting from the crime report will be undertaken by another body or agency subject to the victim (or person acting on their behalf) being made aware of the act to be taken
- Type 21 - Further investigation resulting from crime report which could provide evidence sufficient to support formal action against the suspect is not in the public interest - police decision.
- Type 22 - Diversionary, educational or intervention activity, resulting from the crime report, has been undertaken and it is not in the public interest to take any further action.
*Please note that an investigation only receives one outcome. The table above represents the outcomes reached on the investigations; however, some investigations have more than one victim role attached. The 66 offences relate to 73 victims as shown in the age breakdown below.
|
Number and age of Victims of offences recorded in 2021/22 where one or more victims are aged under 18, by offence code |
|||
|
Offence Code |
Under 18 |
18 or over |
Total |
|
071/10 |
9 |
|
9 |
|
071/17 |
9 |
|
9 |
|
086/02 |
23 |
|
23 |
|
088/09 |
14 |
2 |
16 |
|
071/01, 071/08, 073/07, 073/10, 086/10, 088/01, 088/02, 088/05, 088/10 |
16 |
|
16 |
|
Grand Total |
71 |
2 |
73 |
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