Thames Valley Police Chief Constable Francis Habgood QPM

Transcription

1 Headquarters Oxford Road Kidlington Oxfordshire OX5 2NX Telephone: 101 Direct dial: Our ref: Your ref: Dear HQ/PA/001642/18 20 July 2018 I write in response to the above-referenced Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request submitted on 24 May Thames Valley Police has now considered this request, which for clarity, has been repeated below: Request Police as taking place between 25th and 27th August (inclusive) 2017 at Reading Police as taking place between 26th and 28th August (inclusive) 2016 at Reading Police as taking place between 28th and 30th August (inclusive) 2015 at Reading Police as taking place between 22nd and 24th August (inclusive) 2014 at Reading Response 4 x Sexual Assault on a female 13 or over 1 x Rape of a female over 16 years 1 x Rape of a female over 16 years 1 x Exposure intentional male or female genitals 2 x sexual assault on a female 13 or over 1 x rape of a female over 16 years

2 For clarity, sexual offences here refer to any offences within the Offence Group sexual offences in the Home Office offence code guidelines. The codes for the individual offences are: 17A, 17B, 19C, 19D, 19E, 19F, 19G, 19H, 20A, 20B, 21, 22A, 22B, 23, 70, 71, 73, 88A, 88C, 88D, and 88E. Where possible, please also provide details relating to the nature of the sexual offence, and any outcome i.e. Prosecution / Case discontinued due to insufficient evidence. Outcomes for these incidents are listed as 7 x No Further Action 1 x Charge/summons, prosecution and conviction. Thames Valley Police can confirm that it holds further information with respect to this details and nature of the offending, but is engaging the following exemptions: Section 30(1)(a)(b): Investigations and proceedings conducted by public authorities Section 40(2): Personal information. See below for further information. Note: The data was retrieved by doing a full search between the dates 01/01/ /12/2017 and then filtering to the specific dates requested. The search was carried out on either the LPA equal to Reading or the Postcode equal to RG1 8EQ. This was then filtered down to the specific address of 'Reading Rock Festival'. Note: The data provided is taken from our crime recording system. This is a dynamic system. Additional information identified during the investigation may lead to a

3 reassessment of the crime classification. Information held on the system is also subject to review to ensure compliance with the Home Office Counting Rules for Recording Crime and the National Crime Recording Standard. As a result of this crime levels and classifications may change over time and this data may not match data previously published or data published in the future. For this reason, the data should only be used as an indicator of crime trends. Reported crime is all reports of crime recorded on the crime recording system. Reported crime is made up of Finally Recorded Crime, Crime Related Occurrences and Cancelled Crimes, the definitions for the latter two are defined below. Crime Related Occurrence: This term is used to describe a record of an incident which has come to the attention of the police, which, on the Balance of Probabilities would normally amount to a notifiable crime, but a resultant crime has not been recorded. The specific circumstances where this would happen are: 1) The incident is reported by a third party and either i) The alleged victim declines to confirm the crime or ii) The alleged victim cannot be traced 2) The incident is being dealt with by another police force 3) The National Crime Recording Standard or Home Office Counting Rules for Recording Crime direct that

4 a crime should not be recorded Section 30: Investigations and proceedings conducted by public authorities Section 30 is a class-based qualified exemption. Harm Ongoing investigations and subsequent legal proceedings could be undermined, leading to unjust outcomes. Factors favouring disclosure Thames Valley Police acknowledges a general public interest in being open and transparent in how it carries out its tasks of protecting the public it serves. This fosters trust and co-operation. Factors against disclosure Providing further information could inform offenders that their crime is being/not being investigated, leading to changes in behaviour to prevent detection or the resumption of offending behaviour, leading to further victims of crime. Balance test Any disclosure that undermines Thames Valley Police efforts to prevent and detect crime cannot be in the public interest and therefore the force believes that the exemption is engaged appropriately. Section 40: Personal information Section 40 is a class-based absolute exemption. Information disclosed under the Freedom of Information Act is disclosed into the public domain, effectively to the world, not just to one individual. To disclose further information in response to your request could publicly reveal information about an individual or individuals, thereby breaching the right to privacy afforded to persons under the Data Protection Act When disclosing information would breach an individual's rights under the Data Protection Act 2018, Section 40 becomes an absolute exemption, and there is no requirement for me to provide evidence of the prejudice that would occur, or to conduct a public interest test. Complaint Rights If you are dissatisfied with the handling procedures or the decision made by Thames Valley Police, you can lodge a complaint with the force to have the decision reviewed

5 within two months of the date of this response. Complaints should be made in writing to the FOI inbox; If, after lodging a complaint with Thames Valley Police, you are still unhappy with the outcome, you may make application to the Information Commissioner at the Information Commissioner s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF. If you require any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact this office. Yours sincerely Public Access Joint Information Management Unit