Homicide data 2023 405/2024

 

FOI Reference: 405/2024

Request:

1. How many homicides were recorded by your force in 2023

2. Of the homicides recorded by your force in 2023, how many of the victims were categorised as

• Male
• Female
• Unknown/unrecorded

3. Of the homicides recorded by your force in 2023, how many of the victims were aged

• 0-12
• 13-19
• 20-24
• 25-34
• 35-44
• 45-54
• 55-64
• 65 and over 

4. Of the homicides recorded by your force in 2023, how many recorded the method of killing as

• Knife or sharp implement
• Shooting
• Blunt implement
• Physical assault, no weapon
• Other method of killing
• Not known/not recorded

5. Of the homicides recorded by your force in 2023, how many recorded an officer observed ethnicity of the victim as

• Asian
• Black
• White
• Other
• Not recorded/not known 

6. Of the homicides recorded by your force in 2023, how many victims were flagged as

• Domestic abuse
• Not domestic abuse 

7. Of the homicides recorded by your force in 2023, how many

• Resulted in a subsequent murder charge but not conviction
• Resulted in a subsequent murder charge and conviction 
• Did not result in any individual being subsequently charged with murder

 

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 exemptions are relevant:

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

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.

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.

Public Interest Test

Considerations favouring disclosure - Disclosure of the information would improve the public’s knowledge and understanding of the investigatory process and, as all police investigations are publicly funded, would show how public funds are being spent. Murder/homicide investigations are highly emotive and attract large media interest, therefore disclosure of the information would show the public that the investigation had been conducted properly.

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. In addition to this, there are already in place established procedures for disclosure when to do so would aid an investigation, for example an appeal for witnesses through media channels. Disclosure of the requested information would prejudice how investigations are carried out in the future, which in turn would undermine an individual’s right to a fair trial. This would hinder the prevention and detection of crime which would affect the forces future law enforcement capabilities.

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 ongoing investigations, 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.

 

Response 1:

Homicides in 2023

4

 

Response 2:

Male	Female	Section 30 exemption applied
2	1	1

 

Response 3:

20-24	25-34	Section 30 exemption applied
1	2	1

 

Response 4:

Knife or sharp implement	Section 30 exemption applied
1	3

 

Response 5:

White	Not recorded/not known	Section 30 exemption applied
2	1	1

 

Response 6:

Section 30 exemption applied x4

 

Response 7:

Charge and conviction

1

 

Please note that the remaining recorded homicides have different outcomes to those listed within the question, therefore they have not been included in this 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.

(This is a response under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and disclosed on 04/06/2024)