OFFICIAL
Information Rights and Disclosure Unit
Professional Standards and Legal Services Department
Durham Constabulary
Peterlee Police Office
St Aidans Way
Peterlee
Co Durham
SR8 1QR
Tel. No: 0191 3752582
Web Site: www.durham.police.uk
E-mail:
Our Ref: SRT/DC/FOI/162/15
Date 16th March 2015
This matter is being dealt with by Stephen R Taylor, Information Rights and Disclosure Unit Supervisor, Telephone No 0191 3752582
Dear Sir / Madam,
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST REFERENCE NO: 162/15
I write in connection with your request for information dated 23rd February 2015 which was received by Durham Constabulary on 23rd February 2015. I note you seek access to the following information:
I would like to know the number of crimes reported in Durham City by students at Durham University in the period of January 2012 – December 2014 in the following areas:
-Sexual assault
-Rape
-Assault
-Harassment and/or stalking
I would also like to know how many of these reported cases were charged, and how many led to a conviction.
Please could you break down the figures so I can compare year on year i.e. Jan 2012-Dec 2012; Jan 2013-Dec 2013; Jan 2014-Dec 2014.
I am required by the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to handle all requests in a manner that is blind as to the identity and motives of the requestor. Any information released as a response to a request is regarded as being published and therefore in the public domain without caveat.
Please note that Durham Constabulary’s response to your request is unique and should not be used as a comparison with any other Force response you receive.
Following receipt of your request, searches were conducted with the Neighbourhoods Command of Durham Constabulary. I can inform you that the information you have requested is held in part by Durham Constabulary.
Decision:
Your request has now been considered and I am not obliged to provide the information that you have requested.
Please note that whilst Durham Constabulary holds information in relation to offences committed against students who are studying at Durham University, there is currently no facility to easily access the information that you require. To retrieve accurate data, where held, would require a member of staff to retrieve crime files and individually check documents, within the file in an attempt to locate the information sought, where some 900 files would need to be checked, i.e. a manual viewing and extraction of the information and at a conservative estimate, this would take at least 15 minutes per individual record held. The cost of providing you with the information is above the amount to which we are legally required to respond. This is because the cost of identification, and retrieval of the information EXCEEDS the “appropriate limit” as stated in the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) Freedom of Information (Fees and Appropriate Limit) Regulations 2004 and Fees for Disclosure under Section 13 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. The appropriate limit is £450 or 18 hours work at £25.00 per hour. I would also refer you to the Freedom of Information Regulations issued by the Department for Constitutional Affairs. Accordingly therefore, I will be unable to provide any information in relation to your request under Section 12 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
In accordance with Section 17(5) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, this letter represents a Refusal Notice for this particular request.
For your information, the issues in answering your request are as follows:-
1. The occupation of a victim is NOT a mandatory field within a crime report. Where such is not completed the only means of confirming the occupation of the victim is to review the contents of their statement;
2. Where the occupation of a victim is recorded on the crime report, all that the field will state is “student”. There is no field on the crime report to record the institution at which they are studying. The only means of confirming if details of the institution at which they are a student is held to review the contents of their complainant’s statement where held.
Although excess cost removes Durham Constabulary’s obligations under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, as a gesture of goodwill, I have supplied information below, 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.
N.B. The information relates to offences where information readily available, generally the address given by the victim, suggests that the victim is / was a student at Durham University at the time of the offence. However, it must be noted that, for the reasons set out in 1. and 2. above the accuracy of the information can NOT be guaranteed.
2012 / 2013 / 2014Sexual Assaults
· Reported / 0 / 0 / 6
· Charged / ~ / ~ / 0
Rape
· Reported / 0 / 1 / 4*
· Charged / ~ / 0 / 0
2012 / 2013 / 2014
Assault
· Reported / 4 / 13 / 10
· Charged / 0 (1 pre-reprimand disclosure) / 1 (+ 4 cautioned and one person reported for summons) / 0 (+ 2 cautioned and one youth pre-caution)
Harassment and / or Stalking
· Reported / 0 / 0 / 0
· Charged / ~ / ~ / ~
* With regards to the reported offences of Rape in 2014, one of the allegations was later withdrawn by the complainant and a second, after investigation, was recorded as “No Crime”.
I do hope this is of assistance to you.
Your attention is drawn to the below link to our website, which details your right to complain:
https://www.durham.police.uk/About-Us/Freedom-of-information/General/Pages/FOI-Request.aspx
Should you have any further enquiries concerning this matter, please write or contact me on the above telephone number.
Yours faithfully,
Stephen R Taylor,
Information Rights and Disclosure Unit Supervisor
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