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Freedom of information request reference no: 01.FOI.24.035700
I note you seek access to the following information:
The number of crimes committed involving corrosive substances in the Greater London Area in January 2023 to January 2024 inclusive.
Please include in your information release:
Date of crime.
Location of crime - ie. Borough. Number of injured persons per incident.
Other charges linked to the same incident - ie. used in a theft.
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
The MPS has relied on Section 40 of the Act due to the low totals returned for the requested information if broken down by date. The data on its own may seem innocuous, however if it is pieced together with the borough, there is a risk of identification of individuals linked to contact with police / police investigations.
Section 40(2)&(3) - Personal Information - Section 40(2)(a)(b) of the Act provides that any information to which a request for information relates, is exempt information if the first condition of Section 40(3A)(a) is satisfied. The first condition of Section 40(3A)(a) states that personal information is exempt if its disclosure would contravene any of the data protection principles. If the disclosure of the requested personal data would not contravene the data protection principles, the disclosure must also not contravene Sections 3A(b) and 3B of the Act.
There are six principles that are set out in Article 5(1)(a) of the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) that dictate when the processing of personal data is lawful. The first principle requires that any processing of personal data must be lawful, fair and transparent. Under Article 6(1)(f) of the GDPR, 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.
Having given regard to the legitimate interest test, I have found that to provide a further breakdown by date would allow, by virtue of comparison, particularly where a small number of offences have occurred:
a. The disclosure of a breakdown of corrosive substances offences by borough and date of crime would satisfy a legitimate interest, being to provide further factual information about corrosive substances offences that have been reported to the MPS.
b. The disclosure of this information, inclusive of the personal data that would be disclosed, is necessary to meet legitimate interest identified at point a above.
a. When a person reports a crime to police or is suspected of an offence, the police investigation is conducted confidentially and their identities remain unknown to the general public. This is police policy/procedure. Given this, I do not believe that those involved in a police would reasonably expect the MPS to publish information that would allow them to be identified. Identifying the parties involved in a police investigation would accordingly, be likely to distress those parties and may lead to unwanted and unsolicited intrusion from the media and/or others interested in the facts of their case. In this regard, I believe that disclosure of this personal data would be likely to cause unwarranted harm to the data subjects in this request.
Disclosure
Please find below a spreadsheet.