11823-20 Female Homicide

                                                                                                                         

 

I write in connection with regards to your request received in this office on 10th March.  I note you seek the following:

 

Please could you provide us with a list of all female victims of homicide killed between 1 January 2019 and 31 December 2019 (inclusive) which your authority has been responsible for investigating and, for each victim:

1. the date of the homicide;
2. the names of the victims and the accused / perpetrator;
3. the age of the victim;
4. the ethnicity/race of the victim;
5. the relationship between the accused and the victim;
6. the sex of the accused / perpetrator;
7. if identified, the way in which the victim was killed;

Also, if possible we would appreciate the following information.

1. whether there were any previous reports from the victim (or any third party) regarding the accused / perpetrator; and
2. whether there were any previous reports and / or convictions of any other offences related to violence against women perpetrated by the accused / perpetrator.

 

Having made enquiries within the Force we have supplied all the information available on the attached document for the missing data we would rely on the following:

 

Section 1 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 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 the Freedom of Information Act requires that I provide the applicant with a notice which: a) states that fact b) specifies the exemption(s) in question.  This information is exempt by virtue of

Section 30 (1) (a) & (b) in that Information held by a public authority is exempt information if it has at any time been held by the authority for the purposes of (a) any investigation which the public authority has a duty to conduct with a view to it being ascertained (i) whether a person should be charged with an offence, or (ii) whether any person charged with an offence is guilty of it, (b) any investigation which is conducted by the authority and in the circumstances may lead to a decision by the authority to institute criminal proceedings which the authority has the power to conduct or (c) any criminal proceedings which the authority has the power to conduct.

 

In line with Section 30 I am required to carry out a Public Interest test.  

 

Considerations favouring disclosure.

Accountability: Disclosure could provide the investigating officers with additional information.

Public awareness: Disclosure of the information in relation to an on-going investigation may enhance the ability and professionalism of the force and individual officers.

 

Considerations favouring non-disclosure.

Public safety: By the inappropriate release of information at this time could impact the on-going investigation and or the Court system.

 

Balancing Test: Whilst the public interest considerations favouring disclosure are noted in considering the arguments for and against release of the information requested, the balance in the public interest favours non-disclosure. To disclose at this moment in time could lead to other law enforcement either be compromised or significantly weaken any on-going investigations and any future investigations.

 

Please note that all 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.

 

If you are not satisfied with this response or any actions taken in dealing with your request you have the right to request an independent internal review of your case under our review procedure. The APP College of Policing guidance states that a request for internal review should be made within 20 working days of the date on this response or 40 working days if extenuating circumstances to account for the delay can be evidenced.