Stolen Vans/Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV) from September 2020 to August 2022

Freedom of information request reference no: 01.FOI.22.026407

I note you seek access to the following information:

• The total number of van/Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV) thefts reported between 1 September 2021 and 31 August 2022, as well as for the previous year between 1 September 2020 and 31 August 2021. Please provide the numbers broken down by year and month.

• If available, please provide a breakdown of where the van/LCV thefts occurred (eg: home, car park, work etc.) for the period 1 September 2021 to 31 August 2022. Please provide the numbers/locations broken down by month.

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 30(1)(a)(i) – Criminal Investigations
Section 40(2)(3A)(a) – Personal Information

Reason for decision

I have made the decision to disclose the information you are seeking at the first part of your request, however, with reference to the second part of your request, where you ask us to disclose the location that vehicles were stolen from, if possible, it must be noted that we are unable to identify whether a vehicle was stolen from the owner’s home or work address, as that information is not readily available.

We can, however, identify the ‘type’ of location that a vehicle was taken from and I have made the decision to provide that information to you, though due to low figures located for some location types, some of the data has been aggregated.

If we were to disclose the number of van thefts, broken down by year, month, and location where low data has been located, this could identify specific incidents/ investigations, and by virtue of that, individuals concerned. As Information released under FOIA is published and accessible to all, this could release sensitive personal information in relation to individuals concerned into the public domain, and would cause harm to ongoing investigations. I have therefore made the decision to aggregate the data for some location types

Section 30(1)(a)(i) – Investigation and proceedings conducted by the public authority - The release of information broken down to the granularity you are seeking could identify specific investigations which would impact upon ongoing investigations. The outcome for some of the offences have yet to be determined therefore, to release any further information would compromise our law enforcement investigative functions. Any disclosure, which would prejudice an ongoing investigation and therefore hinder an individual’s right to a fair trial cannot be in the public interest.

However, there is also a strong public interest in safeguarding the integrity of police investigations, by not releasing information that could hinder that investigation and prejudice the outcome of any legal proceedings.

After weighing up the competing interests I have determined that the disclosure of the further information you have requested but which has not been disclosed in this response, would not be in the public interest. I consider that the benefit that would result from the information being disclosed does not outweigh the considerations favouring non-disclosure, particularly given the level of information disclosed today – which I believe satisfies the wider public interest.

Section 40(2)(3)&(4) – Personal Information

There are six data protection principles that are set out in Section 34 of the Data
Protection Act 2018. The first principle requires that the disclosure of the requested personal data must be lawful and fair. Under the Act, the disclosure of personal data is considered to be lawful if:
a. There is a legitimate interest in the disclosure of that personal data.
b. The disclosure of the personal data is necessary to meet that legitimate interest.
c. The disclosure would not cause unwarranted harm to the data subject.

The requested information contains personal data that I consider exempt under the Act, for example, were we to disclose the number of van thefts broken down by location type, it is highly likely that specific incidents, and individuals concerned, could be identified due to low figures when broken down to some location types.

Having considered the data, I have found, having considered the legitimate interest test, that if we were to provide the requested data broken down by some location types, this would, due to low figures when broken down in this way, identify specific incidents/offences, and by virtue of this, could also identify individuals concerned and release sensitive personal information in relation to individuals into the public domain. Any such disclosure would not be in accordance with the first principle of the DPA. Although I understand there is an interest in the number and type of offences that have been committed in specific locations, I believe this interest has been satisfied by the release of the disclosed information. I do not believe that providing any more details, when there is a reasonable risk that the additional information would identify individuals involved would add to any wider public debate that may be ongoing.

Furthermore I do not think it would be fair to the individuals concerned if information was disclosed that identified them as being linked in any way to any incident. For example, a victim would not expect us to disclose the fact that they were such, and may not wish for family, or colleagues, to know they had reported a crime to police; and an individual who was later found to not be involved would be unfairly stigmatised.

Under Section 40(2) and (3) of the Act, Public Authorities are able to withhold information where its release would identify any living individual and breach the principles of the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA). I have applied this exemption in that the identity of individuals that may be realised through providing the information broken down in the format you have requested would constitute personal data which, if released, would be in breach of the rights provided by the DPA.

The six principles of the DPA govern the way in which data controllers must manage personal data. Under principle one of the DPA, personal data must be processed fairly and lawfully. I consider that providing information that identifies individuals constitutes personal data. The release of this information would be unfair as the persons concerned would have no reasonable expectation that the MPS would make this information publicly available.

In reaching my decision, I have, in each case, given due regard to the condition at Article 6(1)(a) and 6(1)(e) of the GDPR. Condition one of the GDPR requires that consideration is given to whether consent for disclosure has been given whilst Condition six requires that consideration is given to performance of a public task in the public interest.

Having considered both conditions, I have established that no consent is present or would likely be received to release this information. The provision to refuse access to information under Section 40(2)(a)(b) and (3A)(a) of the Act is both absolute and class based. When this exemption is claimed, it is accepted that harm would result from disclosure. There is accordingly no requirement to demonstrate what that harm may be in refusing access to information.

Disclosure

Please see the attached spreadsheet for information that has been located and assessed as suitable for disclosure. Please ensure that the data is read in conjunction with the notes page of the attached spreadsheet to ensure correct interpretation of the data provided.