FOI 798/24 Dine and Dash
Dear Sir/Madam,
Enquiry Reference: 798 - 24
I write in connection with regards to your Freedom of Information request. Below is your request and our response.
Please can I have data on the number of so-called ‘dine and dash’ incidents - where customers leave without paying their bill - reported by establishments serving food (eg. restaurants and cafes) for the years between 2018 and 2024? Please can I have the data broken down by calendar year and put in a table?
- a) Volume of crimes for 49A making off with payment.
2024 – 4
2023 – 21
2022 – 14
2021 – 13
2020 – 8
2019 – 35
2018 – 22
Please can I also have figures for the number of such incidents your force has responded to for the calendar years between 2018 and 2024? Again, please can I have the data broken down by calendar year and put into a table (separate to the table for the number of incidents reported)?
- a) Volume of crimes attended for 49A making off with payment.
2024 – 1
2023 – 5
2022 – 5
2021 – 1
2020 – 2
2019 – 6
2018 – 6
Please can I also have data on the number of arrests made by your force for such incidents between 2018 and 2024, as well as the number of people charged? Please can I have the data for arrests and the number of people charged displayed in separate tables, laid out by calendar year between 2018 and 2024.
- a) Volume of people charged
2022 – 1
2021 – 2
2018 – 3
Having made enquiries within the Force the analyst has provided all crimes for 49A - Making off without payment with the location as hospitality. The volume of crimes will differ as there can be more than one suspect.
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 Freedom of Information Code of Practice (see below link) 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. Public authorities are not obliged to accept internal reviews after this date.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/freedom-of-information-code-of-practice
Yours sincerely
Information Rights Decision Maker