FOI 352263
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST REFERENCE NO: 352263
I write in connection with your request for information which was received on 6th August 2024. Please find below the response to your request:
- Please tell me for the financial years a) 2021/22, b) 2022/23, and c) 2023/24 on how many occasions your police force has made compensation or ex gratia payments to individuals whose properties have been damaged during a forced entry that was unlawful (either because the wrong address was raided or because a warrant had not been secured).
2. For a) 2021/22, b) 2022/23, and c) 2023/24 please tell me the total amount of compensation and ex gratia payments paid out to individuals following an unlawful forced entry. Please break down for each year the amount corresponding to compensation payments and the amount attributable to legal costs.
3. Please state the FIVE biggest amounts settled over this three-year period, stating how much corresponded to legal costs and how much corresponded to compensation in each case and the financial year in which it was settled. In addition, please give a brief summary of the circumstances that led to the compensation payment in each of the three cases without revealing personal details, e.g., “officers broke down the door at number 25a when the warrant was for 25b”.
NOTE: In all cases, I am referring to the year in which the claim was settled, not the year the incident happened or the year the claim was lodged.
Reply
- Please tell me for the financial years a) 2021/22, b) 2022/23, and c) 2023/24 on how many occasions your police force has made compensation or ex gratia payments to individuals whose properties have been damaged during a forced entry that was unlawful (either because the wrong address was raided or because a warrant had not been secured).
21/22 22/23 23/24
7 12 8
- For a) 2021/22, b) 2022/23, and c) 2023/24 please tell me the total amount of compensation and ex gratia payments paid out to individuals following an unlawful forced entry. Please break down for each year the amount corresponding to compensation payments and the amount attributable to legal costs.
21/22 22/23 23/24
Compensation paid £6,293 £8,944 £19,494
Legal costs paid 0 0 0
Please state the FIVE biggest amounts settled over this three-year period, stating how much corresponded to legal costs and how much corresponded to compensation in each case and the financial year in which it was settled. In addition, please give a brief summary of the circumstances that led to the compensation payment in each of the three cases without revealing personal details, e.g., “officers broke down the door at number 25a when the warrant was for 25b”.
Financial Year Compensation Paid Brief Circumstances
23/24 £13,929 Forced entry by officers investigating threats to life
22/23 £ 2,680 Landlord claim for damages to rental property following forced entry
22/23 £ 2,023 Claimant seeking damage to property following forced entry
21/22 £ 2,007 Claim for repairs caused during forced entry during concern for safety incident
23/24 £ 1,967 Claim for repairs to commercial premises following mistaken entry
NOTE: In all cases, I am referring to the year in which the claim was settled, not the year the incident happened or the year the claim was lodged