Data on hate crime incidents from 2018 to 2021

Freedom of information request reference no: 01.FOI.22.023429

I note you seek access to the following information:

I would like to request data on hate crime incidents reported 01/01/2021 through 31/12/2021. If possible, I would like a list of the incidents with the following information:

• bias type/s (race, religion, sexual orientation, transgender, etc.)
• date of incident (alternatively: date reported)
• ethnicity of victim if the bias is race
• crime type (aggravated assault, public alarm, fear, distress, etc.)
• ethnicity of attacker • location

Please do not provide an aggregate count for these crimes but a list of individual incidents and their characteristics. What is most important are the first three characteristics listed above.

In the previous FOI request I was provided the ethnicity of the victim for all biases but was given the date of the incident for only racial hate crimes. I prefer to have the ethnicity for race hate victims and the exact date for all victims.

I would also like a daily count of hate crime by bias (race, religion, disability, transgender, and disability) for the period 2018-2020.

Decision

Having located and considered the relevant information. I have today decided to disclose some of the requested information. Some information has been withheld as it is exempt from disclosure and therefore this response serves as a Partial Refusal Notice under Section 17 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act) by virtue of the following exemptions:

Section 30(1)(a) – Investigations and Proceedings Conducted by Public Authorities
Section 40(2)(3)&(4) - Personal information

Reason for decision

Before I explain the reasons for the decisions I have made in relation to your request, I thought that it would be helpful if I outline the parameters set out by the Act within which a request for information can be answered. The Act creates a statutory right of access to information held by public authorities. A public authority in receipt of a request must, if permitted, confirm if the requested information is held by that public authority and, if so, then communicate that information to the applicant.

The right of access to information is not without exception and is subject to a number of exemptions which are designed to enable public authorities to withhold information that is not suitable for release. Importantly, the Act is designed to place information into the public domain, that is, once access to information is granted to one person under the Act, it is then considered public information and must be communicated to any individual should a request be received.

I have considered the information:

The exact date of incident and the location (the London Borough) where each incident occurred.
The above requests for information is exempt under:
Section 30(1)(a) – Investigations and Proceedings Conducted by Public Authorities
Section 40(2)(3)&(4) - Personal information of the FOIA.

If the MPS disclosed the information requested, details of an investigation could cause an individual to be identified and is therefore exempted in this case.

Section 30 - Investigations and proceedings conducted by public authorities - The prevention and detection of crime is the foundation upon which policing is built and the police have a clear responsibility to prevent crime, arrest those responsible for committing crime or those that plan to commit crime.

The MPS does not generally disclose information from investigations except through our Directorate of Media & Communication to the media. This is so potential witnesses are not discouraged to come forward and provide statements in relation to investigations.
The manner in which investigations are conducted is usually kept in strict secrecy so that the tactics and lines of enquiry that are followed do not become public knowledge thereby rendering them useless.

The MPS is charged with enforcing the law and preventing and detecting crime. Any information released under the Act which reveals investigative strategies and processes would prejudice the prevention and detection of crime and the apprehension or prosecution of offenders.

During the course of any investigation enquires are made to secure evidence. These enquires are made for the duration of the case and are based upon proven methods as well as the judgement and experience of the officer(s) in charge of the investigation.
The MPS is reliant upon these techniques to conduct its investigations and the public release of the modus operandi employed during an investigation or review could prejudice the ability of the MPS to conduct further, similar investigations.
It is not in the public interest to disclose information that may compromise the MPS's ability to complete any future criminal investigations.

Care must be taken to not compromise any strand of an investigation or cause any undue harm to any people or families involved.
The MPS has a duty to protect both witnesses and suspects of criminal investigations and the integrity of tried and tested investigative techniques used now and for future criminal investigations.

The disclosure of this information to the public by the MPS would undermine individuals' confidence in helping the MPS with investigations, thereby reducing the quality of information the MPS receives and consequently compromising the effectiveness of any investigation.

The disclosure of this information to the public by the MPS would also, inhibit the flow of free and frank discussion, sharing of advice and best practices for investigations between police services. Anything that undermines this would have a detrimental effect on the thoroughness, efficiency and effectiveness of police investigations and ultimately the apprehension and prosecution of offenders.

Section 40(2)(3)&(4) – Personal Information - The Freedom of Information Act provides an exemption for Personal Data and this is known as the section 40 exemption.

The information sought under your Freedom of Information request includes the following which we consider to be Personal Data:

• The exact date of incident and the location (the London Borough) where each incident occurred.

If the MPS disclosed the information requested, details of an investigation could cause an individual to be identified.

Where the request is seeking access to third party personal data the section 40(2) exemption may be engaged.

In order to apply the Section 40(2) exemption, the disclosure of the requested information must satisfy either the first, second or third conditions as defined by subsections 3A, 3B and 4A of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (as amended by Section 58 of the Data Protection Act 2018).

The first condition ensures that the exemption would apply in circumstances where the disclosure of the information would breach any of the Data Protection Act 2018 principles.

There are six Data Protection principles set out in the 2018 Act and these can be found at section 34.

In this instance I have decided that the disclosure of the Personal Data would be incompatible with the first Data Protection principle which states that the processing (in this case the disclosure) of the data must be both lawful and fair.

Disclosure

The harm of disclosure is reduced by removing the exact date of each incident and the London Borough were the incident occurred.

Please find below a spreadsheet, pursuant to your request for information.

IMPORTANT:
• Please ensure that the note section within the spreadsheet is read in conjunction with the data in this report to ensure that it is interpreted correctly.