FOI 384037

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST REFERENCE NO: 384037

I write in connection with your request for information which was received on 13^th January 2025 . Please find below the response to your request:

Please provide the following information for each of the calendar years for Worcestershire:

January 1 - December 31 2020

January 1 - December 31 2021

January 1 - December 31 2022

January 1 - December 31 2023

January 1 - December 31 2024

1) How many reports of stolen items do you have from police cars in Worcestershire and a breakdown of each area the offence has taken place. For example, the road name of where each incident happened.

2) A breakdown of what item(s) was stolen from each car in each location.

3) How many reports of stolen items do you have in Worcestershire police stations, and how many thefts happened at each one listed in the county?

4) A breakdown of what item(s) was from each police station in Worcestershire

5) The overall outcome of the reports of thefts in police cars and police stations.

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. There is no specific offence title for theft from police vehicles or theft from a police station 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.

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 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. The information was gathered by carrying out specific search filters where the victim is listed as West Mercia Police and a search where the location indicates a police station. Where the victim is listed as the individual then this may not have been captured in the search therefore the information given below may not be accurate.