Suspected victim suicides 925/2024

FOI Reference: 925/2024 

Request

1. How many Suspected Victim Suicides (SVSDA) as defined by the National Police Chief's Council have been recorded by your force in the last three years?

Please provide annual breakdown from Sept 2021- till the most recent date of your last recording.

a) Of these SVSDA cases, how many cases had a forensic post mortem?

Please provide annual breakdown from Sept 2021- till the most recent date of your last recording

2. Of the SVSDA cases recorded by your force in the last three years (Sept 2021 – till most recent date of your recording), how many resulted in a criminal investigation being opened?

Please provide annual breakdown from Sept 2021- till the most recent date of your last recording

a) Of those SVSDA cases where a criminal investigation was opened, under what categories were these investigations finalised?

Please give results by outcome type as classified by the Home Office (See: Outcome Types) & annual breakdown

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 

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 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 those investigations. 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 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. 

Question 1:

Question 2:

Question 3:

(This is a response under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and disclosed on 27/11/2024)