Rape and sexual assault offence outcomes for Q1-2017/18 and Q2-2022/23

Freedom of information request reference no: 01.FOI.23.029876

I note you seek access to the following information:

I am writing to request data held concerning rape and sexual assault offence outcomes.

By rape I refer to the specific offences 19C, 19D, 19E, 19F, 19G, 19H, 19J and 19K. For sexual assault, I refer to 17A, 17B, 20A, and 20B.

I would like data provided by financial quarter beginning quarter 1 of 2017/18 and ending quarter 2 of 2022/23 and I would like to know about crimes based on when a crime outcome was recorded, not the crime itself (so please exclude all cases where an outcome has not yet been assigned).

Please tell me:
a. How many outcomes for rape and for sexual assault offences were recorded in the quarter
b. How many type 1 outcomes (a charge or summons for that specific offence) were recorded in the quarter for rape and for sex assault offences
c. How many type 1A outcomes (a charge or summons for an alternative offence) were recorded in the quarter for rape and sex assault outcomes
d. Of the alternative charge outcomes (1A), please provide a breakdown by the crime the suspect was charged with, eg X number were charged with assault. For this breakdown please use Home Office offence codes and descriptions outlined here

For all of these four questions, please provide separate counts for each of the rape and sexual assault offences specified above (19C, 19D etc).

The resulting data I am asking for should allow me to see, for instance, that of X number of rape offence outcomes recorded in Q2 of 2020/21, Y resulted in a charge/summons for that offence while Z resulted in a charge/summons for an alternative offence, and that of Z, A were for assault, B were for causing sexual activity without consent, etc.

Please provide the data in a spreadsheet format. A suitable format may include the following column headers:

For questions a) to c):
• financial year
• financial quarter
• name of offence recorded (eg rape 19C, sexual assault 17A etc)
• count of total outcomes
• count that resulted in a charge for that offence (outcome 1)
• count that resulted in a charge for an alternative offence (outcome 1A)
For question d):
• financial year
• financial quarter
• name of offence recorded (eg rape 19C, sexual assault 17A etc)
• name of alternative offence charged (eg assault)
• count

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)(a)(b)(3)(A)(i) – Personal Information.

Reason for decision

Section 40(2)(a)(b)(3)(A)(i) – Personal Information - 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).

You have asked us to provide data in relation to rape and sexual assaults that have been committed over a defined three month period, and have further asked for each to be broken down by specific offence (eg. 19C, 19D, 19E etc) along with the outcomes.

Whilst it is possible to disclose the number of rapes, and a total figure for sexual assaults that have been recorded over the requested time range, due to the narrow time range and low numbers identified, to provide information in relation to each individual specific offence along with the outcome would present a strong risk of identification of individuals. This would breach the right to privacy afforded to persons under the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

The victims of these offences would not reasonably expect this information to be published by the MPS and I have found that as no prior consent has been given to release this personal data any release would accordingly be unfair to them. In the case of legitimate processing, it is not appropriate to release this information and the exemption provided by Section 40(2)(3) of the Act is therefore engaged.

We have therefore provided information grouped under ‘Rape’ and ‘Sexual Assault’ which would reduce the risk of identification.

Section 40(2)(3A)(a) – Personal Information - requires neither an evidence of harm or public interest test in justification of its use. When this exemption is applied, it is accepted that harm would result from disclosure.

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 disclosure of the requested information could cause a living person's identity to be revealed. If this occurs due to the information provided by the MPS, this constitutes personal data, which would be in breach of the rights provided by the DPA.

The eight 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. In reaching my decision I have given due regard to Condition one and six of Schedule 2 of the DPA.

The exemption provided under section 40 becomes absolute and class based in cases where disclosure would contravene the principles of the Data Protection Act. Therefore I am not required to provide a prejudice test or public interest test.

Disclosure

Please find attached the data relating to your request.