FOI 693-2024 / July 2024 / Van thefts
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST REFERENCE NO: 693-2024
I write in connection with your request for information which was received on 29th July 2024 as follows:
Please could you send me the following data available in your area on the following points, with figures be broken down by month and to cover the period January 2023 to December 2023.
- Please could you provide statistics for the number of vans reported broken in to and/or stolen (or had items stolen)
- Please could you then provide the makes/models of vans most frequently targeted by thieves
Please find the Warwickshire Police response set out below.
Response: Please be advised that the requested information is not held in a readily retrievable format. There is no specific identifier to isolate theft of/from vans and in order to determine this information, and then to ascertain makes and models, if recorded, it would be necessary to examine all relevant ‘Theft of a Motor Vehicle’ and ‘Theft from a Motor Vehicle’ offences on an individual basis. On average, combined, there are approximately 2,000 such offences recorded per year, and, at a conservative estimate of 3 minutes per record to review, this would equate to over 200 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 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 in relation to your request; however, due to the volume of records involved, I am unable to suggest a way to revise your request to one which could be carried out within the fees limit.
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