Stolen Motor Vehicles 443/23
FOI Reference: 443/2023
Request:
- The total number of reports received of items stolen from a motor vehicle, broken down by year, in 2021, 2022 and 2023
|
Year |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 (January – March if available) |
Total |
|
|
|
|
|
|
- The reported estimated average value of the items stolen from a motor vehicle, broken down by year, in 2021, 2022 and 2023
|
Year |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 (January – March if available) |
Total |
|
|
|
|
|
|
- The reported estimated total value of the items stolen from a motor vehicle, broken down by year, in 2021, 2022 and 2023
|
Year |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 (January – March if available) |
Total |
|
|
|
|
|
|
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. minimum of 66.50 hours) to comply with your request. The regulations can be located @
www.legislation.hmso.gov.uk/si/si2004/20043244.htm
The Freedom of Information Department has been advised in respect of questions 2 and 3 that for some theft from a vehicle crime records a value for the items stolen has not been recorded in an easily retrievable format. Therefore, in order to establish what information, if any, is held in relation to the request would require the individual interrogation of all theft from a motor vehicle crime records in which the value of the items stolen has not been stipulated or listed as unknown to ascertain if the value of the item(s) stolen has been listed elsewhere within the crime record. It has been established that for the period as specified within the request there are a total of 396 theft from a vehicle crime records that would require researching. It has been estimated that it would take a minimum of 10 minutes to research a crime record for relevance to your request as outlined above, resulting in the following broken down time estimate.
2021 = 173 crime records at 10 minutes each = 28.83 hours
2022 = 187 crime records at 10 minutes each = 31.67 hours
2023* = 36 crime records at 10 minutes each = 6.00 hours
(* up to 31/03/23)
Total of 66.50 hours to complete task
Please note: A response to question 1 of your request has been outlined at the end of this document and provided as a gesture of goodwill, outside of the FOI Act. In addition to this a response to questions 2 and 3 can be provided without including the data that would need to be reviewed as outlined in the above time estimate. However, this data would not be accurate or fully representative of the information that you have originally requested.
In accordance 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, however with due regard to the time estimate provided above it is unlikely that refining your request will fall under the 18 hours as the same method and format will have to be undertaken. 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 Force’s 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 question 1 of 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:
|
Year |
Number of reports of items stolen from a motor vehicle |
|
2021 |
264 |
|
2022 |
258 |
|
2023* |
48 |
|
* up to 31/03/23 |
|
(This is a response under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and disclosed on 05/06/23)