Stop and search & wildlife crime 716/2025

FOI Reference: 716/2025

Request:

Please provide the following data held by your force for the period from 1 January 2022 to the present (or the most recent available date)

1a) The total number of stop and search incidents where the object of the search included offensive weapons

1b) The total number of stop and search incidents where the object of the search included offensive weapons and there was a suspected or alleged link to wildlife crime.

2. Of the incidents involving wildlife crime recorded on police intelligence recording systems in addition to crime recording systems, how many involved the possession, suspected possession, or use of catapults?

3. For the searches described in point 2, please provide a breakdown of:

The outcome of each search (e.g. no further action, arrest, charge, summons, caution).

The number of subjects aged: 1.) Under 11 years old 2.) Between 11-18 years old.

Whether there were any suspected links to other forms of antisocial behaviour.

The specific offences alleged or identified (e.g. poaching, hunting with dogs, criminal damage to wildlife, etc.).

4. If available, please provide any guidance, policy, or briefing documents used by your force regarding stop and search in the context of wildlife crime or catapult-related offences.

Clarification Q

1. Are you referring to incidents or crimes?

Incident and crime definition/differences:

Please note an incident is different from a crime.  An incident is a record of contact made to a police force by an individual/member of public (usually via a 999 or 101 call) and a crime is where the threshold has been met for the police force to deem that a criminal offence has occurred as defined by law.

2. In regard to question 2, are you referring to ‘incidents’ recorded in respect of Q1b or are you refereeing to all wildlife crimes recorded or both?

Clarification A

1. We are interested in knowing the number of incidents suspected to be connected to wildlife.

2. We are referring to the incidents referred to within Q1b.

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.

Where exemptions are relied upon Section 17 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 requires Dyfed Powys Police, when refusing to provide such information (because the information is exempt) to provide you the applicant with a notice which: (a) states that fact, (b) specifies the exemption in question and (c) states (if that would not otherwise be apparent) why the exemption applies.

I can confirm that Dyfed-Powys Police does hold the information you have requested. However, we are withholding the whole of the requested information since we consider that the Section 12(1) exemption the Cost of Compliance exceeds the Appropriate Limit applies to it.

Section 12 (1) – The cost of compliance exceeds the Appropriate Limit

Section 12(1) states: “…Section 1 (1) does not oblige a public authority to comply with a request for information if the authority estimates that the cost of complying with the request would exceed the appropriate limit.”

The cost of providing you with the information requested in respect of your request is above the amount to which we are legally required to respond i.e. the cost of locating and retrieving the information exceeds the “appropriate level” as stated in the Freedom of Information (Fees and Appropriate Limit) Regulations 2004. It is estimated that it would exceed 18 hours (i.e. minimum of 144.4 hours) to comply with part of your request. The regulations can be located @ https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2004/3244

The Freedom of Information department has been advised that the information in respect of Questions 1b, 2 & 3 of your request is not held in an easily retrievable format. In light of this and in order to accurately obtain the information relative to your request for the time frame stipulated would involve Dyfed Powys Police manually reviewing all records.

It has been established that there are a total of 1733 records that cover the period of your request.  It has also been established that it would take an average of 5 minutes per record to extract the information in respect of your request (as outlined above). The process outlined results in the below time estimate.

Volume of Stop and Search’s whereby the search reason was `Offensive Weapons’:

1733 records x 5 minutes = 144.4 hours

Time estimate to complete task = 144.4 hours

Please note that the relevant department has advised the Freedom of Information team that question 4 would trigger its own time estimate as it would take in excess of 18 hours to locate all relevant material.                                  

(This is a response under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and disclosed on 12/08/2025)