Leather exhibits recovered 619/2024
FOI Reference: 619/2024
Request:
- Between the dates September 2019 - May 2024, have you recovered any leather exhibits from crime scenes or the person?
- If yes to question 1, please provide a breakdown of types of leather exhibits recovered and number per year (clothing - jacket for example; footwear; furniture; weapon sheath - knife, gun, other; animal lead; wallet; belt; handbag).
- If the leather exhibits were submitted to a Chemical Development (Fingermark Enhancement) Laboratory, please disclose what fingermark development methods were used on the leather exhibits and if they were successfully used to visualise fingermarks.
- Please disclose if the fingermarks on leather exhibits successfully yielded any identifications.
- If yes to question 4, please provide data as to how many identifications were yielded from leather exhibits.I am investigating fingermark development on leather exhibits recovered from crime scenes.
Please may I request information on the following questions:
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 some 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 237.5 hours) to comply with this part of your request. The regulations can be located @ www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2004/3244
The Freedom of Information Unit has been advised that the information requested in relation to the whole request is not held in an easily retrievable format and would exceed the appropriate time limit, i.e. 18 hours, to retrieve. This is due to the fact that every case would need to be individually interrogated.
It has been estimated that to individually interrogate each case would take approximately 5 minutes per record. It has been established that there are a total of 2,850 records that would require interrogation. The relevant time estimate is detailed below:
Sept 2019 – Aug 2020 = 829 cases x 5 minutes per record = 67 hrs
Sept 2020 – Aug 2021 = 624 cases x 5 minutes per record = 52 hrs
Sept 2021 – Aug 2022 = 564 cases x 5 minutes per record = 47 hrs
Sept 2022 – Aug 2023 = 529 cases x 5 minutes per record = 44 hrs
Sept 2023 – May 2024 = 407 cases x 5 minutes per record = 34 hrs
Therefore, total time estimate to complete the request = 237.5 hrs
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. Should you require any further advice in relation to this matter please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Please also be advised that should the request be refined, it does not remove the Force’s right to cite exemptions if relevant.
(This is a response under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and disclosed on the 17th July 2024)