FOI 391703
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST REFERENCE NO: 391703
I write in connection with your request for information which was received on 26th February 2025 . Please find below the response to your request:
1) The number of deaths of women referred by the force to be considered for domestic homicide reviews/domestic abuse related death reviews between 2019-2024
2) How many of the referrals identified in response to question 1 resulted in the review process being undertaken and how many did not
3) For each death identified in response to question 1, please provide the number of DASH assessments completed by the force in relation to the deceased prior to their death and the risk level identified in each assessment
4) For each death identified in response to question 1, please provide the number of occasions on which the deceased was discussed at the Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference/High Risk Daily Meeting/Daily Risk Assessment Management Meeting or equivalent meeting prior to their death.
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. For questions 3 and 4 a full review of police systems would need to be carried out to determine all risk assessments and then determine the risk level associated. All systems and documents regarding victims and whether they were discussed would need to be reviewed. 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.
However, In accordance with Section 16 of the Act I have a duty to provide advice and assistance in relation to your request and can provide the information requested for questions 1 and 2 as this was retrieved during our initial research. This should not be taken as a precedent that additional information would be supplied outside of the time/fees legislation for any subsequent requests.
34 referrals have been made by West Mercia Police
24 referrals have gone to or will be going to a full review
7 of those DHR referrals did not proceed to a full review.
3 referrals are still awaiting a decision on whether to proceed to a full review.