Defibrillator Damage (199A/23)
Request
1) Please tell me for the calendar years a) 2020, b) 2021 and c) 2022 how many times you recorded criminal damage as having occurred to an automated external defibrillator (AED)?
2) For the same time periods, please tell me how many thefts of AEDs were recorded.
3) Finally, for the 10 most recently recorded crimes uncovered by the searches in questions 1 and 2 above, please send me a verbatim copy of the investigation summary field and/or the modus operandi (MO), including the location of the recorded crime.
Response
We can confirm that some relevant information is held by West Midlands Police. However, while the majority of the information is attached to this email I am not required to release all of the information requested. Please find attached a redacted document.
REASONS FOR DECISION
The redacted information is exempt by virtue of the following exemptions:
Section 30(1)(a)(b)(c) Investigations and Proceedings Conducted by Local Authorities
Section 40(2) Personal Information
These exemptions and explanatory notes are shown here:
In line with the above, I am required to complete a Prejudice Test/Public Interest Test (PIT) on disclosure. Please find this PIT attached [199A_PIT_01].
Section 40(2) is an absolute and class based exemption if to release the information exists would breach the third party’s data protection rights. In this case to release this personal information would not constitute fair processing of the data. As this exemption is class based I am not required to identify the harm in disclosure and in this instance I believe that the right to privacy outweighs any public interest in release.