Race Hate Crime - 626/2021

Request:

This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act for data on race hate crimes, and racially aggravated offences reported to your force.

For the years 2015/16 (i.e to 31^st March 2016) to 2020/2021 (i.e to March 31st 2021) please provide for your force.

1. How many racially offences per month broken down by race or ethnic background/nationality have been reported?
2. How many race hate crimes per month broken down by race or ethnic background/nationality have been reported?
3. And please provide the same data for any months already recorded after March 31st, 2021.
4. An annual summary of the number of racial offences against Asians reported- for every year you have on record. (i.e How many racial offences against Asians were reported in 2014/2015, 2013/2014…)
5. An annual summary of the number of race hate crimes against Asians reported for every year you have on record.

Clarification:

Q1. and Q.4 refers to ‘racially aggravated offences’                                             

Response:

I can confirm that Dyfed-Powys Police does hold the information requested; however, we are exempting part of that information as we believe that the following exemption is relevant:

Section 30(1)(a) Investigations and Proceedings conducted by Public Authorities

(1) Information held by a public authority is exempt information if it has at any time been held by the authority for the purposes of -

(a) Any investigation which the public authority has a duty to conduct with a view to it being ascertained (i) whether a person should be charged with an offence, or (ii) whether a person charged with an offence is guilty of it.

Section 30(1)(a) is a class-based qualified exemption. This means that the legislators when writing the legislation considered that the release of such information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 would cause harm to the public authority or individual concerned. There is therefore no requirement to carry out a HARM Test in respect of such information. However, there is a requirement to carry out a Public Interest Test in order to establish whether the public interest in maintaining the exemption may be outweighed by a wider public benefit in disclosure.

Public Interest Test

Considerations favouring disclosure:

Disclosure of the information would improve the public’s knowledge and awareness and would provide satisfaction to the public that these cases are investigated thoroughly and offenders are being dealt with accordingly.

Considerations favouring non-disclosure:

This exemption covers information held at any time for the purpose of an investigation, whether the case is ongoing, closed or abandoned. To release specific details of an ongoing investigation, as in this case, could undermine and prejudice that investigation. This would impact on the forces’ future law enforcement capabilities by hindering the prevention or detection of crime.

Balancing Test

After considering the advantages and disadvantages in disclosure, it falls upon Dyfed-Powys Police to conduct a balance test on the issues. The strongest argument for disclosure, which is public awareness, needs to be weighed against the strongest arguments for non-disclosure, which in this case is that the release would undermine and prejudice an ongoing investigation, which would impact on the forces’ future law enforcement capabilities by hindering the prevention or detection of crime.

Therefore, in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

Question 1 and 3 response:

Question 2 and 3 response:

Question 4 response:

Question 5 response:

It should be noted that as a result of the systems adopted by Dyfed-Powys Police in relation to the recording of such information that the information released may or may not be accurate.

Furthermore, it should also be noted that Police forces in the United Kingdom are routinely required to provide crime statistics to government bodies and the recording criteria is set nationally. However, the systems used for recording these figures are not generic, nor are the procedures used locally in capturing the crime data. It should be noted that for these reasons this force's response to your questions should not be used for comparison purposes with any other response you may receive.