FOI 282827

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST REFERENCE NO: 282827

I write in connection with your request for information which was received on 4^th October 2023.  Please find below the response to your request:

I would like to know the following:

1. How many reports of voyeurism were made in each of the following years: 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 (with an end date of 31/09/2023)?
2. How many of those reports involved a victim / alleged victim aged 18-24? (please can you be specific for 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 (up until 31/09). 
3. How many of those reports involved a victim / alleged victim under the age of 18? (please can you be specific for 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 (up until 31/09). 
4. In relation to question 1, how many of those reports of voyeurism involved a camera in glasses/ spectacles?

Reply

West Mercia Police holds the information requested.  Please see below FoI282827 Tables:-

FOI 282827 2023 - Number of Voyeurism offences recorded in West Mercia from 1/1/2019 to 30/9/2023.

Caveat:  The 1^st table gives the overall number of Voyeurism offences reported (223 offences).  An offence many involve more than one victim (where 2 or more people are targeted at the same time by the same offence, there can be 2 or more victims per crime.

The 2^nd table gives the overall number of victims broken down by age group (210 unique crimes with 222 victims).  The disparity in totals of the 2 tables is where it has not been able to identify a victim in the reported crime.  (ie. suspect’s phone seized but victim not identified in voyeurism offence on phone recording). 

West Mercia Police searched in the spreadsheet for the words ‘glass’ or ‘specs’ in the Incident Summary field.  Of the 223 offences, there were no reports of voyeurism offences involving cameras in glasses or spectacles.