Sexualised graffiti 640/2026
FOI Reference: 640/2026
Request
This request concerns how your force records and responds to reports involving targeted sexualised graffiti or written material in public or publicly accessible places — in particular where the writing includes a named person's details, telephone number, sexualised allegations, invitations to contact them for sexual purposes, or wording likely to expose them to harassment, alarm, distress, unwanted sexual contact or safeguarding risk.
1. Recording and searchability
Please confirm whether your force holds any searchable flag, tag, marker, keyword, crime category, occurrence type or recording mechanism that would allow this type of conduct to be identified as:
- sexualised graffiti
- targeted sexual harassment
- publication of personal data in a public place
- phone-number graffiti
- public-place sexual harassment
- VAWG-related conduct
- stalking or harassment-related conduct
- repeat victimisation
If no such mechanism exists, please say so clearly.
2. Keyword counts
Please provide the number of recorded reports, incidents, crimes, logs or occurrences containing one or more of the following searchable terms, if held:
"graffiti", "toilet graffiti", "sexual graffiti", "sexualised graffiti", "public toilet", "cubicle", "written in toilet", "phone number", "mobile number", "prostitute", "slag", "slut", "whore", "busty", "sex", "call me", "for sex", "sexual harassment"
If your systems cannot search by these terms, please explain what search terms, flags, crime categories or recording methods are available for this type of conduct.
3. Policies, guidance and training
Please provide copies of any policy, guidance, training material, briefing note, crime-recording guidance or risk-assessment guidance held by your force concerning how officers or staff should respond to reports involving:
- sexualised graffiti
- graffiti or written material naming a person as sexually available
- graffiti or written material publishing a person's phone number or other personal data
- graffiti inviting strangers to contact a named person for sexual purposes
- sexual harassment in public or publicly accessible places
- anonymous third-party harassment through writing in toilets or public venues
- repeat reports of sexualised public-place harassment
- safeguarding or vulnerability concerns arising from this type of conduct
- links between this conduct and stalking, harassment, domestic abuse or VAWG
If no such document is held, please say so clearly
4. Reviews, analysis and problem profiles
Please provide copies of any analysis, review, problem profile, equality impact assessment, VAWG assessment, local briefing, crime-pattern analysis or strategic document held from 1 January 2021 onwards concerning:
- sexualised graffiti
- graffiti targeting named women or girls
- use of public toilets or public venues to publish personal data
- harassment involving phone numbers written in public places
- anonymous public-place harassment of women or girls
- sexual harassment in supermarkets, service stations, cinemas, hospitals, schools, hospitality venues, transport hubs or similar publicly accessible locations
If no such document is held, please say so clearly
5. Publication of personal data
Of the reports identified, the number where the writing included, if held:
- a named person's telephone number
- a named person's address
- a named person's social media handle
- a named person's workplace or school
- a photograph or image of the person
- other identifying personal data
6. Victim sex / gender
- victim/complainant recorded as female
- recorded as male
- recorded as another gender category
- victim sex/gender not recorded or not retrievable
7. Age and vulnerability markers
- child victim
- adult victim
- victim recorded as vulnerable
- safeguarding concerns recorded
- repeat victimisation
8. Location type
- supermarket or retail premises
- service station
- cinema or leisure venue
- hospital, clinic or healthcare premises
- school, college or university
- pub, restaurant, hotel or hospitality venue
- public toilets
- workplace
- transport hub
- other publicly accessible premises
- private dwelling
- other / unknown
9. Crime or incident classification
- harassment
- stalking
- malicious communications
- public order
- criminal damage
- sexual offence
- hate crime
- domestic abuse
- violence against women and girls / VAWG
- safeguarding
- vulnerability
- repeat victimisation
- non-crime incident
- no further action / no crime recorded
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 the whole 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 of 20,060 hours) to comply with this part of your request. The regulations can be located @ https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2004/3244
The Freedom of Information department has been advised that the information in respect questions 5,6,7 & 8 of your request is not held in an easily retrievable format. In light of this and in order to accurately obtain the information relative to your request for the time frame stipulated would involve Dyfed Powys Police accessing and manually reviewing 240,721 records.
It has also been established that it would take a minimum of 5 minutes to review and obtain the information for a single record in respect of your request.
The process outlined results in the below time estimate.
240,721 records x 5 minutes per record = 20,060 hours
Time estimate to complete task = 20,060 hours
In accordance therefore 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 the Freedom of Information Unit. Please also be advised that should the request be refined, it does not remove the public authorities right to cite exemptions if relevant.
(This is a response under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and disclosed on 30/07/2026)
|
Os oes angen y wybodaeth yma arnoch yn Gymraeg, cysylltwch â: If you require this information in Welsh, please contact: |