Revenge porn incidents 608/2022

FOI Reference: 608/2022

Request 1:

1. Please provide data on how many 'revenge porn' incidents were reported in the calendar years 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022 (to July)

Note: by 'revenge porn’, we mean sharing or threatening to share private sexual photographs or films without the consent of the person depicted and with intent to cause them distress, which is a criminal offence under section 33 of the 2015 Criminal Justice and Courts Act 

2. Please supply data on how many of the ‘revenge porn’ offences reported to the police in the calendar years 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022 (to July) resulted in the following outcomes:

• outcome type 1 (charged/summonsed) 
• outcome type 14 (Evidential difficulties: suspect not identified; victim does not support further action) 
• outcome type 15 (Evidential difficulties: suspect identified; victim supports action) 
• outcome type 16 (Evidential difficulties: suspect identified; victim does not support further action) 

3. For the period between June 2021 and July 2022, please provide data on how many reports of ‘revenge porn’ specifically involved threats to share private sexual photographs or films as opposed to incidents in which these photographs or films had already been shared

Note: The 2021 Domestic Abuse Act expanded section 33 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act to include threats to share private sexual photographs or films without consent of the person depicted and with intent to cause them distress 

4. For the period between June 2021 and July 2022, please provide data on how many of the ‘revenge porn’ offences that specifically included threats to share private photographs or films resulted in outcome types 1, 14, 15 and 16

Request 2:

Please supply data on the sex of victims who reported 'revenge porn’ offences between Jan 2019 and July 2022. Please also supply this data specifically for those who reported ‘threats to share’ from June 2021 to July 2022. 

Please supply data on prevalence of victims in different age groups reporting 'revenge porn’ offences between Jan 2019 and July 2022. Please also supply this data specifically for those who reported ‘threats to share’ from June 2021 to July 2022.  (For example, ages  0-17, 18-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60+)

Please supply data on the ethnicity of victims reporting 'revenge porn’ offences between Jan 2019 and July 2022.  Please also supply this data specifically for those who reported ‘threats to share’ from June 2021 to July 2022. 

Note: by 'revenge porn’, we mean sharing or threatening to share private sexual photographs or films without the consent of the person depicted and with intent to cause them distress, which is a criminal offence under section 33 of the 2015 Criminal Justice and Courts Act. The 2021 Domestic Abuse Act expanded section 33 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act to include threats to share private sexual photographs or films without consent of the person depicted and with intent to cause them distress

Clarification:

Clarification was sought from the applicant and they confirmed that the information they were requesting related to crimes.

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 1,098.83 hours) to comply with this part of 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 respect of request is not held in an easily retrievable format. In light of this and in order to accurately obtain the information relative to your clarified request for the time frame stipulated would involve Dyfed Powys Police accessing and reviewing all malicious communications crimes over the time frame stipulated to ascertain if the crime relates to ‘revenge porn’ as outlined in your request. It has been established that there are a total of 6,593 records that cover the period of your request.  It has also been established that it would take a minimum of 10 minutes to review a single crime record in respect of your request (as outlined above).  The process outlined results in the below time estimate.

2019 - 2022(July) = 6593 crime records@ a minimum of 10 mins per record = 1098.83 hours

Time estimate to complete task = 1098.83 hours

Please note: The above time estimate equates to approximately 366.28 hours per year.

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, however with due regard to the time estimate provided above it is unlikely that refining your request will fall under the 18 hours as the same method and format will have to be undertaken. 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 05/09/22)