RESOURCES DIRECTORATE
Corporate Support and Information Services - Data Protection
Police Headquarters, Saunders Lane, Hutton, Preston PR4 5SB

Tel: 01772 413327 Fax: 01772 412123 Email: [Lancashire Constabulary request email]

Mr Nick Henderson

By Email: [email address] 21^st November 2008

Dear Mr Henderson

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION APPLICATION REFERENCE NO: 1407/08

Thank you for your request for information received by Lancashire Constabulary on the 27^th October 2008, which can be found below:-

Could you please inform me of [1a] the total number of homophobic hate crimes reported to you in the last year [b] the last three years [2a] the total number of those hate crimes that were reported to the Crown Prosecution Service in the last year [b] the last three years.

Your request for information has now been considered and part of the information you are seeking can be found below:-

Question 1

In order to obtain this information I have abstracted the total number of Crimes in which an Officer has marked `Yes' in the Sexual Orientation related crime box.

Between 1^st April 2004 and 31^st March 2005 there were 282 crimes of this nature.
Between 1^st April 2005 and 31^st March 2006 there were 382 crimes of this nature.
Between 1^st April 2006 and 31^st March 2007 there were 309 crimes of this nature.
Between 1^st April 2007 and 31^st March 2008 there were 353 crimes of this nature.

Question 2

Unfortunately this information is not retrievable within the `Appropriate Limit' (as defined in the Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004). In order to obtain this information, a member of staff would have to look through the individual Crime Reports and Case Materials of all the 1,326 offences above. Regrettably such a task would take a considerable amount of time, which I believe would cause the answering of your request to exceed the aforementioned limit. Due to this, Section 12 of the Act applies and unfortunately I cannot supply this information at this stage.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your interest in Lancashire Constabulary.

Yours sincerely

Paul Walker

Freedom of Information Disclosure Officer

You have the right to request a re-examination of your case under Lancashire Constabulary's review procedure. If you decide to

request such a review and having followed the Constabulary's full process you are still dissatisfied, then you have

the right to direct your comments to the Information Commissioner who will give it consideration.