11177 - Cyber Crime
I write in connection with your request for information dated 7th August 2019 and received by this office on 8th August 2019. Below are the questions raised in your request, and our response.
I am seeking some information on cyber security crimes that are being committed within your boroughs, under the FOI Act please can the below questions be answered:
Do you have a record of cybercrime that are committed within your force?
a) Yes
What offences related to cybercrime are recordable offences and non-recordable?
a) All crimes are capable of having a cyber-element to them.
There is no definable list of crimes that are cyber. If the report amounts to a criminal offence it is recorded as standard and is marked as being cyber related. For example a malicious communication offence would be recorded as per the home office guidelines. If the offence was as a result of a text message it will not be flagged as cyber enabled however if it was committed via Facebook it would be marked as benign cyber dependent.
Are you able to provide a breakdown of the above offences showing the total number of offences recorded?
- Those were the victim was under 16, 17/18 and over 18
|
|
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
Grand Total |
|
U16 |
254 |
426 |
326 |
1006 |
|
16-18 |
65 |
197 |
85 |
347 |
|
Over 18 |
606 |
1719 |
1038 |
3363 |
|
NK |
293 |
325 |
243 |
861 |
|
Grand Total |
1218 |
2667 |
1692 |
5577 |
The table above splits the information into age ranges of the victim. If the age is missing (NK) this is because the victim is the state or unidentifiable. We are unable to guarantee the ages of the victims as occasionally there are errors inputting dates of birth and to check each one would be a manual process. Also in some instances where someone has illegal photos and the person in the photo cannot be identified then the state is the victim.
- What the conviction was including caution
Whilst it the duty of Cleveland Police to identify and apprehend suspects, decisions regarding prosecution is the responsibility of the Crown Prosecution Service and Convictions is that of HM Courts Service therefore Conviction data is held by HM Courts.
- Including the web platform if known such as facebook, instagram etc
Please can the data be provided for 2017, 2018 and 2019 to end of July.
- What support is there for parents of children after their child has been victim to cybercrime?
- What advise is provided to victims of cybercrime?
- What budget is allocated to cybercrime?
- What advise Is given to the public for cybercrime awareness and privacy?
- Is your police force linked to any others to tackle, prevent cybercrime and promote children’s safety online?
Section 1 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) places two duties on public authorities. Unless exemptions apply, the first duty at Section 1 (1) (a) is to confirm or deny whether the information specified in a request is held. The second duty at Section 1(1) (b) is to disclose information that has been confirmed as being held. Where exemptions are relied upon Section 17 of FOIA requires that we provide the applicant with a notice which: a) states that fact b) specifies the exemption(s) in question and c) states (if that would not otherwise be apparent) why the exemption applies.
Having contacted the relevant department regarding your request we have been advised that there are 5577 files that would require retrieving and reading manually to ascertain if the web platform is recorded within the M.O. it is estimated that this would take in excess of the appropriate time stipulated by the Secretary for Constitutional Affairs, Lord Falconer on the 18th Of October 2004, that is, eighteen hours. This falls under the exemption of 'Compliance exceeding the appropriate limit' covered by Section 12 (1) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and as such this work could not be undertaken.
However as a gesture of goodwill, outside of the Freedom of information Act, we have supplied all of the information, relative to your request, that was retrieved before it was realised that the fees limit would be exceeded. I hope that this is of help to you and note that it does not affect our legal right to rely on the fees regulations for the remainder of your request.
Please note any statistical data supplied in relation to Freedom of Information requests is a snapshot of data held at the time the request was received by the Freedom of Information office and is subject to constant change/updates.
The Cleveland Police response to your request is unique and it should be noted that Police Forces do not use generic systems or identical procedures to capture and record data therefore responses from Cleveland Police should not be used as a comparison with any other force response you receive.