FOI 90103

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST REFERENCE NO: 90130

I write in connection with your request for information which was received on 15^th June 2021. Please find below the response to your request:

I am writing to request the following information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

1. On how many mobile phones has mobile phone data extraction technology been used in criminal investigations between 01/01/2019 and the present day (15/06/2021)?

Please provide a breakdown by:

1. Serious crimes
2. All other crimes

Please could you also provide a breakdown by year.

Note: “Serious crime” is defined in section 93(4) of the Police Act 1997 as: Conduct which (a) involves the use of violence, results in substantial financial gain or is conducted by a large number of persons in pursuit of a common purpose or (b) the offence or one of the offences is an offence for which a person who has attained the age of twenty-one and has no previous convictions could reasonably be expected to be sentenced to imprisonment for a term of three years or more.

By ‘mobile phone data extraction technology and/or software’, I refer to the hardware and/or software used by the force to conduct such digital searches, which can include the extraction of pictures, text messages and information on the Cloud. Examples of such technology include Cellebrite kiosks or MSAB XRY software, allowing the force to access information on a suspect/witness’ device, as per the definition of digital forensics laid out by the NPCC and College of Policing’s definition: Digital forensics is the process by which information is extracted from data storage media (e.g., devices, remote storage and systems associated with computing, imaging, image comparison, video processing and enhancement [including CCTV], audio analysis, satellite navigation, communications), rendered into a useable form, processed and interpreted for the purpose of obtaining intelligence for use in investigations, or evidence for use in criminal proceedings.

2. a) How many police officers have been disciplined AND/OR dismissed for their use of mobile phone data extraction technology between 01/01/2019 and the present day (15/06/2021)?

Please could you provide a breakdown by:

1. i) Year

1. ii) Whether the officer was disciplined or dismissed

1. b) Please could you also provide details of the officer’s actions that led to the dismissal i.e. if they had misused mobile phone extraction technology for personal gain, passed on private information, failed to retain information safely, etc.

3. Please could I have a copy of any Police Crime Commissioner (PCC) reports AND/OR Tactical Assessments AND/OR internal reports produced relating to the force’s use of mobile phone data extraction technology between 01/01/2019 and the present day (15/06/2021).

Reply:-

Q1 – No information held.

West Mercia Police does not keep a breakdown of crime types in a searchable format. Mobile phones that have been completed in the DFU from 1^st September to current day is approx. 15,518.

Q2 – NIL return.

Q3 – No information held.