Stop and Search (21780/19)
Request
In the year ending 31 March 2019 in your police force area:
1. What was the total number of stop and searches for all reasons, where a more thorough search occurred (PACE code A 3.6)? Please provide data sorted by (self-defined) ethnic group, gender, age and outcome of search.
2. What was the total number of stop and searches for all reasons, where a search involved exposure of intimate parts of the body (PACE Code A 3.7)? Please provide data sorted by (self-defined) ethnic group, gender, age and outcome of search.
3. What was the total number of stop and searches for drugs (section 1 Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 and section 23(2) Misuse of Drugs Act 1971), where a more thorough search occurred (PACE code A 3.6)? Please provide data sorted by (self-defined) ethnic group, gender, age and outcome of search.
4. What was the total number of stop and searches for drugs (section 1 Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 and section 23(2) Misuse of Drugs Act 1971), where a search involved exposure of intimate parts of the body (PACE Code A 3.7)? Please provide data sorted by (self-defined) ethnic group, gender, age and outcome of search.
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Response
Please find attached our response.
Please note that these data should be interpreted with caution. Comparing numbers of incidents/crimes can be misleading and does not necessarily indicate the likelihood of someone being a victim of crime. In addition, the number of incidents/crimes recorded in an area over a period of time can be influenced by a number of factors. Consequently statistics on incidents/crimes for one period may not necessarily be a good indicator of future incidents in that area.
Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from a number of data sources used by forces for police purposes. The detail collected to respond specifically to your request is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when interpreting those data.
The figures provided therefore are our best interpretation of relevance of data to your request, but you should be aware that the collation of figures for ad hoc requests may have limitations and this should be taken into account when those data are used.
In addition to the attached response West Midlands Police can neither confirm nor deny that it holds any other information relevant to this request as the duty in Section 1(1)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 does not apply by virtue of the following exemption:
Section 23(5) Information supplied by, or concerning, certain Security Bodies
Section 23 is a class based absolute exemption and there is no requirement to consider the public interest in this case.
Confirming or denying the existence of whether any other information is held would contravene the constrictions laid out within Section 23 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 in that this stipulates a generic bar on disclosure of any information applied by, or concerning, certain Security Bodies.
This exemption and explanatory notes are shown here:
No inference can be taken from this refusal that any further information relevant to your request does or does not exist.
If you decide to write an article / use the enclosed data we would ask you to take into consideration the factors highlighted in this document so as to not mislead members of the public or official bodies, or misrepresent the relevance of the whole or any part of this disclosed material.
Attachments