FOI 337-2025 / Mar 2025 / Blood tests
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST REFERENCE NO: 337-2025
I write in connection with your request for information which was received on 19th March 2025 as follows:
- The number of blood tests sent to a lab for testing, taken from suspects of driving under the influence of drugs from June 2021 to June 2024.
- How many of these tests took under one month to be returned with a result?
- How many of these tests took between one to three months to be returned with a result?
- How many of these tests took between three to six months to be returned with a result?
- How many of these tests took over six months to be returned with a result?
- How many of these tests were ‘lost’ or were never returned with a result?
Can I please have the information split up on a year-by-year basis.
Please accept my sincere apologies for the delay in providing the response to your request and for any inconvenience that this may have caused you. Please find the Warwickshire Police response set out below.
Response: Warwickshire Police forensic provision has advised that data is stored in a forensics management system which cannot easily be configured to determine the requested information and that in order to determine the requested information, a specific audit would need to be undertaken, which would take weeks to complete. The only other way to determine such information would require identifying each and every arrest relating to drug driving during the period and carrying out extensive searches to determine the requested information. The following offences would be relevant: ‘Driving – Excess Drugs’, ‘Driving - Unfit Through Drink/Drugs’ and ‘Driving - In Charge - Unfit Through Drink/Drugs’. We are aware from a previous FOI request regarding drug driving that, during the period 1st June 2021 to 31st March 2024 (3 months less than the requested period) there was a total of 350 recorded arrests for ‘Driving – Excess Drugs’. In this case it would be necessary to review the arrest and then ascertain from case documentation whether a blood sample was sent to lab for testing and when the results were received (or whether they were not returned and were deemed ‘lost’). This process would be estimated to take between 5 and 20 minutes per record, which would equate to between 30 and 117 hours of work (the lower estimate where it is quickly established that the sample had not been sent to lab and the higher where it is established that a sample was sent and searches for the further information is necessary).
However, in the case of ‘Driving - Unfit Through Drink/Drugs’ and ‘Driving - In Charge - Unfit Through Drink/Drugs’, it is not possible to determine whether the arrest is related to drink or drugs without reviewing each and every record on an individual basis. During the period 1st June 2021 to 31st March 2024 there were 692 such arrests and, at an estimate of 3 minutes per record, it would take in excess of 35 hours of work just to determine whether the arrest related to drug driving rather than drink driving. Records found to relate to drug driving would then require the process to be undertaken as set out above for ‘Driving – Excess Drugs’. Although the number is not known currently, this would only add to the time set out above.
For these reasons the searches required are above the amount to which we are legally required to respond ie, the work involved in locating, retrieving and recording the information requested for exceeds the cost threshold (£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 refining your request where possible; however, due to the amount of records that would need to be reviewed, I am unable to suggest a way to reduce this element of your request into one which could be provided 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