FOI 241-2025 / Feb 2025 / Knives
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST REFERENCE NO: 241-2025
I write in connection with your request for information which was received on 21st February 2025 as follows:
- Please could I find out how many Butterfly Knives have been seized in Warwickshire schools every year from the most recent data in 2025, back to 2015?
- Please can the data be separated into Primary and Secondary schools?
- Please could I also find out which area of the region had the highest number of Butterfly Knives seized each year?
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 centrally held record for confiscations of knives and bladed articles. All knife seizures are recorded on the Property Management System, however, the individual circumstances, such as whether it was a confiscation or seized as evidence in a crime, as well as the type of knife, is not recorded on this system. In order to determine a response to the request, it would be necessary to manually review each seizure entry then conduct further research to determine the individual circumstances of the seizure and to locate type of knife, school and area. The business area has advised that information from the Property Management System is only available from 2017 onwards, and for the period 1st January 2017 to the date of the request there have been a total of 5,244 seizures relating to knives. At a conservative estimate of 5 minutes per seizure to review, this would equate to a minimum of 437 hours of work for this part of the request. Therefore, the work required to locate, retrieve, and record the requested information, would exceed 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 Section 12(1) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, this letter is a Refusal Notice for the request.
In accordance with Section 16 of the Act, I have a duty to provide advice and assistance; however, I am unable to suggest a way to reduce this part of the request into one which could be managed 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