FOI 555-2025 / May 2025 / BBQ incidents
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST REFERENCE NO: 555-2025
I write in connection with your request for information which was received on 21st May 2025 as follows:
I am writing to request the following information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 regarding incidents involving barbecues (BBQs) over the past 3 years:
Time Period: January 2022 to the most recent available month in 2025
Breakdown: Ideally by month and by city/town, or region if more appropriate
- The number of call-outs where BBQs were a contributing factor (e.g., reports of fire, public disturbance, antisocial behaviour, etc.). If you can provide the call out type with this it would be great but total number if not.
- The number of arrests or charges brought as a result of fires started by BBQs.
- The number of arrests or charges brought in connection with disturbances at BBQs (e.g., alcohol-related, antisocial behaviour, fights, etc.).
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 specific identifier within the Command & Control System to isolate reports/complaints about BBQs. Keyword searches are not carried out routinely as they are not reliable, they will only bring back records where the chosen keyword(s) is present within the free text of the log of an incident. Therefore, in the event that the circumstances are relevant, but where the exact keyword has not been used to describe the situation (for example a term such as ‘outside gathering’ or similar has been used), then these would not be picked up within a search.
Further, it could be the case that there may be offences recorded on the Crime Recording System which fall within the scope of the request where, during the investigation, it is disclosed that the incident occurred at a BBQ, but when tracking back to the originating incident log, there is no reference to a BBQ and instead this is recorded in different terms (eg as in the example set out above, that there was an ‘outside gathering’). Therefore, this would not be picked up within the original search of the Command & Control System even though the circumstances of a BBQ were relevant.
For these reasons it would be necessary to review thousands of incidents and relevant crimes, including but not limited to Criminal Damage, Public Order etc, on an individual basis to determine an accurate response regarding reports/complaints made in relation to BBQs, and then, if relevant record are located, to ascertain the further detail by cross referencing other systems in relation to arrests and charges. As you will appreciate, such searches of the Command & Control System / Crime Recording System would take an inordinate amount of time and would greatly 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 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 and can advise that, although the limitations of a keyword search have been set out above, the analyst did conduct a search of the Command & Control System only, for all incidents logged between 1st January 2022 and 31st May 2025, where any of the following keywords are present within the free text:
- BBQ, BBQS, BBQ’S, BARBEQUE, BARBEQUES, BARBEQUE’S, BARBECUE, BARBECUES, BARBEQUE’S.
This search returned 216 incident logs and the business area advised that, in order to review for relevance, and to ascertain which fall within the scope of your request, it would be necessary to read and review each and every one on an individual basis. The business area has advised that this would take approximately 5 minutes per record and, together with the time already spent scoping the request, this would once again exceed the fees limit. Further, in the event that relevant records are located, it would then be necessary to carry out further searches against other systems to ascertain the further detail, which would greatly increase the time.
However, although the limitations of a keyword search has been explained, should you wish, it may be possible to conduct a keyword search for a lesser period of time of, say, one year, which may allow information to be obtained within the fees limit. However, it must be highlighted once again that any information returned could not be considered statistically accurate and/or definitive and caution would need to be taken when using such data for any further statistical, analytical or evaluative purposes.
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