FOI 767-2025 / Jul 2025 / Confiscated items
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST REFERENCE NO: 767-2025
I write in connection with your request for information which was received on 28th July 2025 as follows:
I am writing under the Freedom of Information Act (2000), seeking data relating to items or assets that have been confiscated, seized, or otherwise removed from serving police officers, PCSOs, or police staff due to breaches of policy, criminal investigations, or misconduct proceedings.
Specifically, please provide the following information:
Q1. Statistics by year (for calendar years 2021, '22, '23, '24, and '25) on the number of items confiscated, broken down by category where recorded, e.g.:
Weapons (firearms, knives, batons, etc.)
Controlled drugs or substances
Cash (including unexplained/unauthorised sums)
Cryptocurrency (provide an estimated value)
Digital assets (e.g., laptops, mobile phones, storage devices)
Other contraband or prohibited property
Q2. For each category, please provide (where recorded):
The total number of incidents per year.
The type of item(s) confiscated (broad description only).
Whether confiscation occurred as part of internal disciplinary investigations or criminal investigations.
Q3. Please confirm whether your force maintains a central record or database of such confiscations (e.g., through the Professional Standards Department or Property/Evidence Unit), and if so, what datasets are recorded (e.g., item type, value, reason for seizure, outcome).
Please, if possible, provide the data in an Excel compatible file.
Please find the Warwickshire Police response set out below.
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 a response to the request, a manual review of all conduct cases recorded in the specified period would be required on an individual basis. The business area has carried out a scoping exercise and advised that they would initially need to manually review 340 records at an estimate of 5 minutes each, which equates to 29 hours of work. Thereafter, for any relevant cases identified, further work would be required to determine the category and type of property seized and reason for confiscation, which has been estimated at an additional 10 minutes per record. Therefore, the work involved in locating and retrieving the requested information 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 Section 12(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 on refining your request; however, due to the volume of records that would need to be individually reviewed, I am unable to suggest a way to reduce the 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