Race & religion hate crimes 339/2025

FOI Reference: 339/2025

Request:

I’m writing to you under the Freedom of Information Act to request the following data:

1. The number of race hate crimes recorded by the force in 2022, 2023, 2024 and the first two months of 2025.

Can the information be categorised by month and the ethnic group of the victims please.

2. The number of religious hate crimes recorded by the force in 2022, 2023, 2024 and the first two months of 2025.

Can the information be categorised by month and the religion of the victims please.

3. From the figures provided in 1. and 2. how many were recorded as racially or religiously aggravated assault (including injury and without injury).

Can the information be categorised by month please.

4. The three most common racially or religiously aggravated offences recorded by the force in 2022, 2023, 2024 and the first two months of 2025.

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 18.20 hours) to comply with this part of your request. The regulations can be located at https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2004/3244

The Freedom of Information department has been advised that the information in respect of question 2 (i.e. victims religion from 14/05/23 onwards) of your request is not held in an easily retrievable format as there is no specific field to denote the victims religion on the new recording system utilised. 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 accessing and reviewing all religious hate crimes records to identify the victims religion. It has been established that there are a total of 91 records that cover the period of your request.  It has also been established that it would take a minimum of 12 minutes to review and obtain the information for a single record in respect of your request (as outlined above).  The process outlined results in the below time estimate.

14/05/23 – 28/02/25 = 91 records at a minimum of 12 minutes per record = 18.20 hours

Time estimate to complete task = 18.20 hours

Please note: A response to the remainder of your request is retrievable within the 18 hour time limit.  This information has been provided at the end of the document as a gesture of goodwill and outside of the FOI act.

In accordance therefore with the Freedom of Information Act 2000, this letter acts as a Refusal Notice for the Whole of this request under Section 17(5) A public authority which, in relation to any request for information, is relying on a claim that section 12 or section 14 applies must, within the time for complying with section 1(1), give the applicant a notice stating that fact.

You may wish to refine and resubmit your request so that it reduces the time shown above to fall within the 18 hours, should you require any further advice in relation to this matter please don’t hesitate to contact the Freedom of Information Unit. Please also be advised that should the request be refined, it does not remove the public authorities right to cite exemptions if relevant.

Although excess cost removes the forces obligations under the Freedom of Information Act to provide any further information, as a gesture of goodwill, I have provided information, relative to your request which has been easily retrievable and outlined below. I trust this is helpful, but it does not affect our legal right to rely on the fees regulations for the remainder of your request.

Question 1:

Please note: In May 2023 a new recording system was introduced.  Due to differences in the recording systems, information has been provided separately for both the old and new recording system.

Old recording system – Victims ethnic group

New recording system – Victims ethnic group

Question 2:

Please note: Victim religion data has only been provided for the old system as there is a field to denote victim religion. The new system does not have a victim religion field hence the time estimate provided above.

Old System – Victims religion

(This is a response under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and disclosed on 02/04/2025)