Hate Crime (1573A/21)
Request
Please can you provide me with:
- In relation to recorded incidents of homophobic/transphobic hate crime by the force, how many individuals were subsequently arrested by West Midlands Police over the following 5 years:
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
- In relation to recorded incidents of homophobic/transphobic hate crime by the force, of those individuals who were arrested, how many individuals were subsequently charged by West Midlands Police over the following 5 years:
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
Response
Our data are not organised in such a way as to allow us to provide this information within the appropriate (cost) limit within the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act (see ‘Reason for Decision’ below).
Although excess cost removes the force’s obligations under the Freedom of Information Act, as a gesture of goodwill I have supplied information, relative to your request, retrieved before it was realised that the fees limit would be exceeded (see attached). I trust this is helpful, but it does not affect our legal right to rely on the fees regulations for the remainder of the request.
REASON FOR DECISION
Please note that researching each individual case would exceed the appropriate limit (FOIA, s.12). In relation to question 1 – due to previous recording practices for custody data we are currently not able to answer this question with any accuracy and would need to conduct a manual search which would exceed the FOI time limit.
Also for question 2 we have only been able to provide crime outcomes and incidents that happened after the 1st November 2018, which was the earliest data point available.
The cost of compliance with the whole 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 would exceed the appropriate costs limit under section 12(1) of the FOI Act 2000. For West Midlands Police, the appropriate limit is set at £450, as prescribed by the Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004, S.I. 3244.