GPS tracker usage for C&C offences 169/24
FOI Reference: 169/2024
Request:
My request relates to the surge in GPS tracker usage involved in coercive control and stalking cases in 2023.
I would like to request the following information:
1) Can you please provide me with the total number of coercive control cases AND stalking cases that your police force has dealt with in 2023? Please display the total case numbers for coercive control and stalking separately.
2) Can you also please provide me with the number of cases in 2023 that were dealt with by your police force where GPS tracking was used as a form of coercive control? This could include social media trackers, technology-based trackers, AirTags, trackers on apps etc.
3) Can you also please provide me with the number of cases in 2023 that were dealt with by your police force where GPS tracking was used as a form of stalking? This could include social media trackers, AirTags, technology-based trackers, trackers on apps etc.
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 266.6 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 that the information in relation to question 2 and 3 of your request is not held in an easily retrievable format. This is due to the fact that there is no specific category for GPS trackers or an applicable filter on our data recording system. Therefore an individual interrogation of all Controlling and Coercive cases and stalking cases recorded within the specified timeframe would be required to ascertain if it involved relevant information i.e the use of GPS trackers etc.
It has been established there are a total of 1,600 relevant records and It has been estimated that it would take an estimated 10minutes to review each record. The relevant time estimates are detailed below:
2023 Coercive and controlling records= 622 x 10 minutes per record = 103.6 hours
2023 Stalking records= 978 x 10 minutes per record = 163 hours
Total time estimate for whole request= 266.6 hours
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.
Although excess cost removed the force’s obligations under the Freedom of Information Act, as a gesture of goodwill, I have supplied information, relative to your request, retrieved or available before it was realised that the fees limit would be exceeded. 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.
Q1.
Total number of Controlling & Coercive cases in 2023- 622
Total number of Stalking cases in 2023- 978
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 01/03/2024)