Crimes of harassment/stalking/malicious communications/threatening behaviour recorded by RaSP November 2022 and December 2022

 

I note you seek access to the following information:

 

Request for additional data for November 2022 and December 2022 for crimes of harassment/stalking, malicious communications or threatening behaviour recorded by RaSP and referrals to the Fixated Threat Assessment Centre (FTAC).

 

This request is for an extension of the time-period of your request 01/FOI/22/026973 to cover November and December 2022.

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) - Investigations and proceedings conducted by public authorities 

 

 

In relation to the first part of your request, to release details of any crimes of harassment/stalking, malicious communications or threatening behaviour recorded by RaSP that are subject to an ongoing investigation would undermine the policing of that investigation. 

 

Section 30 - Investigations and proceedings conducted by public authorities - The release of any details relating to an ongoing investigation, could hinder the prevention or detection of crime and impact upon the investigation.  Any disclosure could lead to misinformation on where the current investigation is directed and who may or may not be of interest.  The MPS would not wish to reveal who, what and when intelligence is recorded and the extent of their investigations as this would clearly undermine the law enforcement and investigative process. This would impact on police resources and more crime and terrorist incidents would be committed, placing individuals at risk.

 

MPS conducts investigations and the variety of intelligence used to gather evidence.  Disclosure of this information would demonstrate the quick actions of the police once information was received of these crimes.  The release of information which provides assurance to the public that the police service is appropriately and effectively engaging with the threat posed by various groups or individuals, can only build confidence in the role of the police in protecting the citizens of London.

 

However, the strongest reason against disclosure of the requested information is there is a public interest in safeguarding the integrity of police investigations and operations.  There is a need to ensure that any investigation is not compromised by releasing information before the conclusion of a case.  

 

The Police Service is charged with enforcing the law, preventing and detecting crime and protecting the communities we serve. As much as there is public interest in knowing that policing activity is appropriate and balanced  this will only be overridden in exceptional circumstances. The area of police interest is a sensitive issue that reveals local intelligence, therefore after weighing up the competing interests I have determined that to disclose any details of a crime(s) that is subject to an ongoing investigation might compromise that investigation.  Disclosure under the Act is a disclosure to the world not just to the individual making the request.  The release of any information in relation to these crimes, may disclose what evidence is held and may give those who offered any assistance in these criminal acts an insight into the nature and scope of each investigation. 

 

 

The following additional offence was recorded between November and December 2022:

Recorded Month	Offence	Outcome
Dec 2022	Sending letters etc. with intent to cause distress or anxiety	Suspect identified; Victim supports; evidential difficulties

This data was extracted from the Crime Reporting Information System (CRIS) and the following classifications of crimes were included in the search.

 

008/29 - Breach of conditions of injunction against harassment.

008/30 - Putting people in fear of violence.

008/31 - Breach of restraining order.

125/68 - Harassment etc. of a person in his home.

195/94 - Harassment.

 

008/65 - Stalking involving fear of violence, protection from Harassment Act 1997

008/66 - Stalking involving serious alarm/Distress

008/74 - Breach of Stalking Order/Interim Stalking Order.

195/12 - Pursue course of conduct in breach of Sec 1(1) which amounts to stalking

 

008/71 - Disclose private sexual photographs and films with intent to cause distress

008/72 - Sending letters etc. with intent to cause distress or anxiety

 

As ‘threatening behaviour’ is not an offence category in its own right, a search was also carried out for relevant offences that included the terms ‘threat’ or ‘threatening’.

Please note that the above data relates to crimes recorded by RaSP, who may not have subsequently been the investigating unit.

 

Regarding the second part of your request, for the period 01/11/2022 to 31/12/2022 - 32 referrals were taken on by FTAC from RASP.

 

The level of concern, at point of referral to FTAC, was as follows:

 

 

Please note the referral data relates only to referrals received by FTAC from RaSP and which were then taken on. They do not represent the overall referrals received by FTAC. 

 

Additionally, there may be some small anomalies with the figures shown due to the way our systems operate.  The referral figures are only accurate at the time the system searches are run.  For example, referral dates on the system used can be overwritten if a case is re-opened. This means if another search was run on the system at a later date, the figures for the same requested time period could differ.