FOI 434327
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST REFERENCE NO: 434327
I write in connection with your request for information which was received on 29th September 2025. Please find below the response to your request:
I would like to know the total number of acid attacks/ corrosive substance offences from 2019 - 2024 inclusively in the West Mercia police area.
I would also like to know the outcome (total number for each year) for example; did not progress with case due to lack of evidence/ victim did not want to progress etc.
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 of acid/corrosive substance attack; a combination of filters and keywords were required to attempt to identify the relevant incidents. Our searches returned 508 offences which would need to be manually reviewed to eliminate false positives. 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.