FOI 525-2025 / May 2025 / Mobile phones
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST REFERENCE NO: 525-2025
I write in connection with your request for information which was received on 12th May 2025 as follows:
- How many incidents were recorded in 2023/24 and 2024/25 under the code RV86019 (Use a handheld [mobile phone or handheld device] while driving)? Please break the results down by year and broad location (e.g. town)
- Which ten roads in the region had the most RV86019 incidents? Please provide the number of incidents on each of the ten roads.
- In each year, how many incidents resulted in the following outcomes:
- Fixed penalty notice (please provide the total paid in fines if possible)
- License endorsed
- Prosecutions (please provide the total paid in fines after prosecution if possible)
- Cancelled/Not completed
- How many RV86019 incidents resulted in an accident? Of those, how many led to one or more persons being injured or killed?
- How many incidents were recorded in 2023/24 and 2024/25 under the code RC86823 (Supervisor of provisional license holder use handheld device)? Please break the results down by year.
Please find the Warwickshire Police response set out below.
Response: Please be advised that not all of the requested information is available in a readily retrievable format.
With regard to the information requested at Q2 where you have asked which ten roads had the most RV86019 incidents and the number of each, location information is dependent upon what information has been recorded on the Traffic Offence Report (TOR) and what information has, in turn, been inputted into the system, as not all fields are mandatory. In order to determine an accurate response it would be necessary to review, and cross reference with the original TOR, each and every one of the 723 offences recorded during the period, on an individual basis. Therefore, searches 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 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, this letter acts as a Refusal Notice for these parts of the request and, if one part of a request exceeds the fees limit, then section 12 of the Act applies to the whole request.
In accordance with Section 16 of the Act, I have a duty to provide advice and assistance in relation to refining your request and can advise that, were you to remove Q2 and Q4 and resubmit your request, it may be possible to provide the following in relation to the remainder of the information requested:
- How many incidents were recorded in 2023/24 and 2024/25 under the code RV86019 (Use a handheld [mobile phone or handheld device] while driving)? Please break the results down by year and broad location (e.g. town)
- In each year, how many incidents resulted in the following outcomes:
- Fixed penalty notice
- Prosecutions
- Cancelled/Not completed
(Please note the following:
- with regard to amounts paid in fines for FPNs, funds go directly to the Treasury.
- with regard to fines paid after prosecution, this information is not held by the force and a request would need to be submitted to the Courts.
- with regard to endorsement of licenses, this is undertaken by the DVLA not the force.)
- How many incidents were recorded in 2023/24 and 2024/25 under the code RC86823 (Supervisor of provisional license holder use handheld device)? Please break the results down by year.
Please note that, with regard to the information requested at Q4, if a driver of a vehicle has been involved in an RTC, this will be recorded under the contributory factor ‘driving using mobile phone’ and then if the officer who has attended the scene can confirm that the driver was definitely using a mobile phone and a prosecution is appropriate, then a postal requisition or TOR will need to be raised. Therefore, in order to determine the requested information it would be necessary to review each collision where the ‘driving using a mobile device’ has been cited and then review each record in on the collision system to check the outcome. This element of your request would also exceed 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