Provision of information held by Northumbria Police made under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the 'Act')
As you may be aware the purpose of the Act is to allow a general right of access to information held at the time of a request, by a Public Authority (including the Police), subject to certain limitations and exemptions.
You asked:
“May you please provide the following for the time periods 1st Jan - 30th Sept 2019, Jan 1st - 31st Dec 2018 and Jan 1st - 31st Dec 2017
1. The total number of crimes reported to the force
2.The total number of crimes that were "screened out"
i.e in the calandar year 2018 (Jan 1st - 31st Dec 2018), 429,000 incidents were reported and 2,000 incidents were screened out and no further action was taken
3. A breakdown of the types of crimes "screened out" i.e sexual assault, burgulary.
i.e in the calandar year 2018 (Jan 1st - 31st Dec 2018), 429,000 incidents were reported and 2,000 incidents were screened out and no further action was taken. Of the 2,000 incidents, 700 related to burgluary, 300 related to fraud/ forgery, 200 related to criminal damage etc.
Definition for clarity:
- "Screened out" - Crimes reported but no further action taken. Officers will carry out an initial routine exercise to find out basic information. This may include establishing what type of crime is being reported, whether there are any victims, and whether CCTV might be able to identify the criminal. Police then make a decision whether or not to launch a full investigation.
- Screened out crimes are where there is no evidence at the time in order to take the investigation further therefore the crime is screened out and will not have any further investigation unless other evidence comes to light.”
In Response:
Following receipt of your request, searches were conducted with the Corporate Development Department of Northumbria Police. I can confirm that the information you have requested is not held by Northumbria Police.
We are unable to answer your request as we can only provide the screening status of the crime as of the day the data was extracted. The screening status can change at any point – a crime which was initially screened out may be screened in if and when new information becomes available. We would not be able to establish if a crime which is now screened in has previously been screened out. Also, we cannot identify those which have been screened out on the same day as they were reported.
Screened out means no further enquiries/investigation necessary. For example, when an individual is charged then no further enquiries are necessary and therefore the crime would be closed as detected and is screened out. The count of crimes screened out will not necessarily be those that have not gone beyond initial assessment.
We are therefore unable to offer a response to your queries above.
