FOI 391410
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST REFERENCE NO: 391410
I write in connection with your request for information which was received on 26th February 2025. Please find below the response to your request:
Theft of dogs within your area over the period 2019-2024.
In particular, I would like this information broken down by LSOA area and by year.
I wish to be able to show the number of dogs stolen by year by LSOA area.
I would appreciate it if the data could be supplied in a CSV format showing the year, LSOA and the number of thefts.
If possible, I would like to know the breed of dog stolen.
Reply
Your request for information has been considered in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (“the Act”), and I am not obliged to provide the information requested.
S.12(1) of the Act states that a public authority is not obliged to comply with a request for information if the authority estimates that the cost of complying with the request would exceed the “appropriate limit”. For police forces in England and Wales, the "appropriate limit" is £450 or 18 hours of work as set by the Freedom of Information (Fees and Appropriate Limit) Regulations 2004.
The information you have requested is not available in a readily retrievable format. A specific “Pet Abduction” offence was introduced in Aug 2024. Prior to this date these offences were recorded as theft offences. There are over 1005 records. In order to ascertain whether the information you have requested is held would take in excess of 18 hours as each record would have to be checked individually.
In accordance with s.17(5) of the Act, this acts as a Refusal Notice.
Under s.16 of the Act I have a duty to provide advice and assistance in relation to your request.
Unfortunately, due to the volume of records that would need to be reviewed I am unable to identify information that could be supplied within the fees limit.