Domestic abuse 378/2025
FOI Reference: 378/2025
Request
Q1) For the previous 10 calendar years, please provide the total number of recorded crimes which have been flagged as domestic-abuse related incidents (ie. have met the cross-government definition of domestic violence and abuse) reported by young people, broken down by the following age groups:
1) Under 18
2) 18-24
3) 25-30
NB: the cross-government definition of Domestic violence and abuse: "any incident or pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive, threatening behaviour, violence or abuse between those aged 16 or over who are, or have been, intimate partners or family members regardless of gender or sexuality. The abuse can encompass, but is not limited to: psychological, physical, sexual, financial and emotional."
Please provide this data for each year:
a) 2015
b) 2016
c) 2017
d) 2018
e) 2019
f) 2020
g) 2021
h) 2022
i) 2023
j) 2024
k) 2025 – latest available data
Q2) Of the reports cited in answer to Q1, please provide the number of cases that resulted in:
1) An arrest
2) A charge
3) A prosecution
4) A conviction
Please provide this data for each year:
a) 2015
b) 2016
c) 2017
d) 2018
e) 2019
f) 2020
g) 2021
h) 2022
i) 2023
j) 2024
k) 2025 – latest available data
Q3) For the previous 10 calendar years, please provide the total number of coercive or controlling behaviour offences reported by young people, also broken down by the following age groups. Please search for this data using the terms ‘coercive control’ and crimes alleged under Home Office code 008/67.
1) Under 18
2) 18-24
3) 25-30
Please provide this data for each year:
a) 2015
b) 2016
c) 2017
d) 2018
e) 2019
f) 2020
g) 2021
h) 2022
i) 2023
j) 2024
k) 2025 – latest available data
Q4) Of the coercive and controlling behaviour reports cited in answer to Q3, please provide the number of cases that resulted in:
1) An arrest
2) A charge
3) A prosecution
4) A conviction
Please provide this data for each year:
a) 2015
b) 2016
c) 2017
d) 2018
e) 2019
f) 2020
g) 2021
h) 2022
i) 2023
j) 2024
k) 2025 – latest available data
Q5) If available, please provide a breakdown of the most common reasons why domestic abuse and coercive control cases did not proceed to charge (e.g., lack of evidence, victim withdrawal).
Q6) Finally can you please attach MO codes for the calendar year 2024 for domestic abuse-related offences involving alleged victims under 30? I accept redactions may need to be made to remove personal information.
Clarification received
I am referring to an incident - so a record of contact made to a police force by an individual/member of public. For Q1 & Q3, we mean instances where the Victim was in the age groups listed, not the Reporting party.
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.
I can confirm that the cost of determining whether any information relative to this request is or isn’t held is above the amount to which we are legally required to respond therefore we are withholding the whole of the requested information since we consider that the Section 12 (2) exemption the Cost of Compliance exceeds the Appropriate Limit applies to it.
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. The following exemption has been applied to the whole of the information you have requested:
Section 12(2) – The cost of compliance exceeds the Appropriate Limit
Section 12(2) states: “…Subsection (1) does not exempt the public authority from its obligation to comply with paragraph (a) of section 1(1) unless the estimated cost of complying with that paragraph alone would exceed the appropriate limit.”
The cost of determining what information is held, if any, relevant to 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. between 19 - 37 hours) to comply with 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 your request is not held in an easily retrievable format. The relevant department have reviewed the request and established that the required data is not currently retrievable through existing data reporting products and an existing script does not exist.
Consequently, the steps required to initially understand if the data is available and subsequently complete the required extraction, verification, and analysis, through the writing of a new bespoke script, would exceed 18 hours. A breakdown of the steps required and the estimated time it would take per step is detailed below:
|
Stage |
Description |
Time estimate |
|
1 |
Review which server and database might contain the data required for the FOI request |
2 hours |
|
2 |
Identify and scope the necessary tables and columns that might hold the relevant data |
4 hours |
|
3 |
Consult with SMEs or system owners to confirm the selected tables and columns are appropriate |
4 hours |
|
4 |
Develop new script to extract the requested data |
4 hours |
|
5 |
Send the data extract to SMEs / system owners, to confirm accuracy |
4 hours |
|
6 |
(Steps 1-5 repeated should data be inaccurate) |
18 hours |
|
7 |
Data sent to the Performance Team to analyse and respond to FOI |
1 hour |
Please note: We could answer this request within 18 hours if Domestic Abuse crimes were being sought after. Additionally, for Q3/Q4, cases of coercive control will be recorded as a crime following being reported so this would be answerable within the 18 hours if requested as volumes of crime.
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.
(This is a response under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and disclosed on 24/04/2025)
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