Hate crime against MPS staff from January 2018 to February 2022

Freedom of information request reference no: 01.FOI.22.023724

I note you seek access to the following information:

Following your advice regarding a previous request I would like to ask for the following,

1. During the policing of Black Lives Matter (BLM) demonstrations in 2020 how many people were arrested and charged with:
a) Racially / religiously aggravated intentional harassment / alarm / distress - words / writing or/and
b) Use threatening / abusive / insulting words / behaviour to cause harassment / alarm / distress?
c) What were the ethnic profiles of those arrested for such offences – race,sex and age?
d) What were the ethnic profiles of police officers/pcsos/staff who made such allegations
e) What were the outcomes of such cases?

2. Please give details between 2018 to date of recorded incidents of hate crime by members of the public against frontline officers/pcsos/staff in the course of their duties?
a) How many members of the public/protestors were Persons Proceeded Against for Offences with the "Hate Crime Against MPS Staff"
b) Please provide ethnic profile details of race, sex and age

Decision

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

Section 40(2) - Personal Information

Reason for decision

Section 40(2) - Personal Information - S40 are absolute exemptions which means that the legislators have identified that harm would be caused by any release. In addition there is no requirement to consider the public interest test.

With regards to:

Q1c - What were the ethnic profiles of those arrested for such offences – race,sex and age?
And Q2b
Q2 - Please give details between 2018 to date of recorded incidents of hate crime by members of the public against frontline officers/pcsos/staff in the course of their duties?
Qb - Please provide ethnic profile details of race, sex and age

In order to disclose as much information as possible, it has been necessary to withhold the detailed statistical information where the value is low. This is necessary to ensure an individual’s identity cannot be revealed by the information we disclose.

Your request asks for the race, sex and age of those arrested/proceeded against. If the data was presented in this sequence, this could identity individuals.

Disclosure will reduce the harm when the age of those arrested/proceeded against are presented in an age range category and separate data for race and sex.

Disclosure

Please find below answer to question 1 of your request.

For question 2 please see attached spreadsheet.

Q1 - During the policing of Black Lives Matter (BLM) demonstrations in 2020 how many people were arrested and charged with:
Q1a - Racially / religiously aggravated intentional harassment / alarm / distress - words / writing or/and

10 people arrested for a racially aggravated offence (all of which were either S5 POA (Public Order Act) or S4a POA). 9 of those charged for a racially aggravated offence (8 of which were either S5 POA or S4a POA and 1 racial/aggravated assault).

Q1b - Use threatening / abusive / insulting words / behaviour to cause harassment / alarm / distress?

7 people were arrested for either S5 POA or S4a POA.

Q1c - What were the ethnic profiles of those arrested for such offences – race,sex and age?

Racial offences = 1x IC1 / 9x IC3
Non-racial offences = 3x IC1 / 2x IC3 / 2x IC4
Age range 21-35 years old
5 x females / 12 x males

Q1d - What were the ethnic profiles of police officers/pcsos/staff who made such allegations

8/10 racial cases the officers making the allegations were IC3 male officers
1 racial case was against a group of officers (no further data)
1 racial case was against an unknown victim
4/7 cases non-racial the officers making the allegations were a group of officers (no further data)
1 case was a female officer (no further data held)
2 cases were IC1 male officers

Q1e - What were the outcomes of such cases?

Question A outcomes
9 x charged / 1 x NFA (No Further Action)
3 x discontinued / no evidence offered
2 x pending trial
4 x either pleaded guilty or found guilty

Question B outcomes
Of the 7 arrests – 5 charged, 1 NFA, 1 caution.

Identity Codes
Code

IC1
IC3
IC4 Ethnicity

White - North European
Black
Asian (in the UK, "Asian" usually refers to South Asians)