Zombie Knives (261A/24)
Request
1.How many crimes were reported involving zombie knives/zombie-style knives/machetes in the last three years? (Since 2021 – up to and including any data held for 2024)
1a) Of those, how many involved youths (under18)?
Can figures be broken down by year?
2.How many charges/arrests were brought against people selling knives to youths (under18) in the last three years? (Since 2021 – up to and including any data held for 2024).
CLARIFICATION
In relation to question 1a – Both victim and suspect data please.
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 where we have searched for ‘Zombie Knife’ as ‘Weapon Description’). 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). For question 2, we were unable to find any records that would cover the requested information. In order to locate and retrieve this information we would need to manually review any records relating to knives to see if the victim was aged under 18, this search would exceed the FOI time limit.
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.