FOI 63-2025 / Jan 2025 / Child sexual offences
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST REFERENCE NO: 63-2025
I write in connection with your request for information which was received on 13th January 2025 as follows:
- How many prosecutions for child sex offences have taken place after a suspect or [suspects] were first identified through sting operations from self-styled ‘paedophile vigilante hunter’ groups?
• Can the same information be supplied for the number of arrests?
• Can the figures please be broken down from Jan 1 2022 to the present date?
• Can the information please be broken down for each calendar year?
Response:
Section 1 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 places two duties on public authorities. Unless exemptions apply, the first duty at Section 1(1)(a) is to confirm or deny whether the information specified in a request is held. The second duty at Section 1(1)(b) is to disclose information that has been confirmed as being held. Warwickshire Police are unable to confirm whether or not any information is held in relation to your request and Section 12(2) applies.
Section 12(2) states: “…Subsection (1) does not exempt the public authority from its obligation to comply with paragraph (a) of section 1(1) unless the estimated cost of complying with that paragraph alone would exceed the appropriate limit.”
Please be advised that the requested information is not centrally recorded and is therefore not held in a readily retrievable format. There is no marker to identify where suspects have been identified through sting operations / vigilante groups.
In order to determine if such information is or is not held and, if held, to ensure that all information is located, it would be necessary to review every investigation relating to the request during the stated period to determine whether suspects were identified through sting operations. As you will appreciate, this would take an inordinate amount of time and, therefore, the cost of complying with paragraph (a) of section 1(1) would be above the amount to which we are legally required to respond i.e. the cost of exceeds the ‘appropriate level’ as stated in the Freedom of Information (Fees and Appropriate Limit) Regulations 2004.
In accordance with Section 12(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, please treat this letter as the Refusal Notice I am required to provide to you in respect of your request.
In accordance with Section 16 of the Act, I have a duty to provide advice and assistance in relation to refining your request. However, due to the volume of records that would need to be examined, I am unable to suggest a way to revise your request into one that 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