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Freedom of information request reference no: 01.FOI.24.035331
I note you seek access to the following information:
I’d like to get the police statistics in how many cases in 2023 were reported to the police of post separation domestic abuse which as of the 5 April 2023 became a criminal offence. Out of those cases I’d also like to know the genders per case of each alleged perpetrator and victim.
I’d also like to request how many cases of harassment and stalking were brought forward to the police of persons listed as having a previous relationship and the genders of the alleged perpetrator and victim.
I’d like to get the police statistics on how many cases were brought forward each year since 2015 to date, to the police under Section 76 Serious Crime Act 2015 (SCA 2015) which recognises the offence of controlling or coercive behaviour in an intimate or family relationship (CCB) with a potential custodial sentence. Of those cases brought forward to the police of coercive and controlling behaviour I would like to know the genders per case of each alleged perpetrator and victim.
I would also like to know how many perpetrators were charged by the police of those cases brought forward and of those charged how many were prosecuted, what their sentences were and also of the cases brought forward how many were dismissed.
I would also like to know the policies and guidelines the police use in the recording of alleged domestic abuse incidents with each revision since its inception and of those cases brought forward what were the genders of the alleged perpetrators and victims.
I contacted you to explain we were unable to show ‘separations’ as it would mean reading through each record which would result in a cost refusal. I explained we would be unable to show prosecutions or sentencing but could provide outcomes. I also provided you with a list of ‘how known’ codes which you were happy to use.
In relation to the guidelines you revised this to the procedures used from 2015 alongside the current domestic abuse policy.
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 31(1)(a)& (b) – Law Enforcement.
Reason for decision
Section 31(1)(a) – Law Enforcement - In deliberating whether or not the information requested should be disclosed, I have considered the potential harm that could be caused by disclosure.
Whilst not questioning the motives of any applicant, the MPS will not provide information that we believe would prejudice law enforcement or any information that would reveal policing tactics or compromise law enforcement procedures. This would undermine the operational integrity of our activities, which would adversely affect law enforcement.
The public expect police forces to use all powers and tactics available to them to prevent and detect crime or disorder and maintain public safety.
Releasing the current MPS Domestic Abuse Policy in full would undermine law enforcement and could cause operational harm to the MPS. This could affect our ability to fulfil our core function of law enforcement in the future as disclosure of this information would allow members of the public to identify the resources and tactics used to respond to domestic abuse related call outs.
It would enable individuals that are intent on causing disruption to identify strengths and weaknesses or circumnavigate our procedures which could be exploited causing harm to members of the public.
Any information that can cause disruption to operational policing and prejudice the detection and prevention of crime cannot be in the interest of the public when the document is still in draft.
The MPS has a duty to protect the public from harm and that duty of care to all involved must be the overriding consideration. It cannot be in the public interest to disclose information which would undermine our ability to prevent or detect crime and bring offenders to justice.
I have determined that the disclosure of the requested information in full would not be in the public interest. I consider that the benefit that would result from any information being disclosed does not outweigh the considerations favouring non-disclosure.
Having considered your request, I accept that there is a public interest in transparency when any request is made for police information, however, the public interest favouring release must be balanced against any associated risk and/or prejudice that would be caused by disclosure.
Having carefully considered this, I have found that the public release and publication of information would have a negative impact upon law enforcement which is not in the public interest.
The public interest is not what interests the public but what will be of greater good if released to the community as a whole. It is not in the public interest to disclose information that may in any way compromise the MPS’ ability to accomplish its core functions of law enforcement.
Disclosure
Please find below an excel document which contains 6 tables that answer your above questions. Please ensure that the Notes Page is read in conjunction with the data in this report to ensure that it is interpreted correctly.
Please find below the current Domestic Abuse Policy in redacted form titled Version 12.1 Domestic Abuse Policy Redacted.
In addition to this I also attach our Domestic Abuse Policy Version Control Document. This details all the amendments that have been made to the policy since 2021. The Version Control Document only came into effect in 2021, version control information prior to this is not recorded in the same layout or an easily retrievable format.