Dear Sir or Madam,

I would like to get crime statistics by ward level for NI for year
2007/08 and all available years prior to 2003/04 - preferably in a
spreadsheet or similar format.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours faithfully,

Darryl Collins

July 7, 2008

Dear Mr. Collins,

FREEDOM of INFORMATION ACT 2000

I write in connection with your request for information dated July 3, 2008 which was received by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) on July 3, 2008. I note you seek access to the following information:

Crime statistics by ward level for NI for year 2007/08 and all available years prior to 2003/04

This request will be dealt with under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. A response should be sent to you within 20 working days. The Freedom of Information team will advise you in writing if there are any delays in responding to your request and will keep you advised of progress.

In the event where the cost of complying with the request would exceed the "appropriate level", which is fixed at £450, as stated in the Freedom of Information Regulations 2004, it is the policy of the PSNI to close the request. You will however be notified of this decision and given an opportunity to refine and resubmit the request.

If your request requires either full or partial transference to another public authority in order to answer your query, again, you will be notified.
If you have any queries regarding your request please write or contact the Freedom of Information Team on 028 9070 0164. Please remember to quote the reference number listed above in any future communications with the Freedom of Information Team.

If you are dissatisfied in any way with the handling of your request, you have the right to request a review. You should do this as soon as possible, or in any case within two months of the date of issue of this letter. In the event that you require a review to be undertaken, you can do so by writing to the Head of Freedom of Information, PSNI Headquarters, 65 Knock Road, Belfast, BT5 6LE or by emailing [PSNI request email].

If following an internal review, carried out by an independent decision maker, you were to remain dissatisfied in any way with the handling of the request you may make a complaint, under Section 50 of the Freedom of Information Act, to the Information Commissioner's Office and ask that they investigate whether the PSNI has complied with the terms of the Freedom of Information Act. You can write to the Information Commissioner at Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF. In most circumstances the Information Commissioner will not investigate a complaint unless an internal review procedure has been carried out, however the Commissioner has the option to investigate the matter at his discretion.

Yours sincerely,

Mr Gordon Reid
A/Head of Freedom of Information

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July 17, 2008

Dear Mr. Collins,

FREEDOM of INFORMATION ACT 2000

I write in connection with your request for information dated July 3,
2008 concerning;

Crime statistics by ward level for NI for year 2007/08 and all available
years prior to 2003/04.

Your request for information has now been considered and I am not
obliged to supply the information you have requested.

Section 17 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 requires the Police
Service of Northern Ireland, when refusing to provide such information
(because the information is exempt) to provide the applicant with a
notice which: (a) states the fact, (b) specifies the exemption in
question and (c) states (if that would not otherwise be apparent) why
the exemption applies.

Question

I would like to get crime statistics by ward level for NI for year
2007/08 and all available years prior to 2003/04 - preferably in a
spreadsheet or similar format.

Answer

The following exemption has been applied:

S21 Information Reasonably Accessible by Other Means

The information you request may be located at
www.ninis.nisra.gov.uk/mapxtreme/DataCat...

If you have any queries regarding your request or the decision please do
not hesitate to contact me on 028 9070 0164. When contacting the Freedom
of Information Team, please quote the reference number listed at the
beginning of this email.

If you are dissatisfied in any way with the handling of your request,
you have the right to request a review. You should do this as soon as
possible, or in any case within two months of the date of issue of this
letter. In the event that you require a review to be undertaken, you can
do so by writing to the Head of Freedom of Information, PSNI
Headquarters, 65 Knock Road, Belfast, BT5 6LE or by emailing
[PSNI request email].

If following an internal review, carried out by an independent decision
maker, you were to remain dissatisfied in any way with the handling of
the request you may make a complaint, under Section 50 of the Freedom of
Information Act, to the Information Commissioner's Office and ask that
they investigate whether the PSNI has complied with the terms of the
Freedom of Information Act. You can write to the Information
Commissioner at Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water
Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF. In most circumstances the Information
Commissioner will not investigate a complaint unless an internal review
procedure has been carried out, however the Commissioner has the option
to investigate the matter at his discretion.

Please be advised that all PSNI replies under Freedom of Information
will be released simultaneously into the public domain via our website @
www.psni.police.uk <http://www.psni.police'uk/> .

Personal details in respect of your request have, where applicable, been
removed to protect confidentiality.

Yours sincerely,

Mr Gordon Reid

A/Head of Freedom of Information

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Dear Mr Reid,

Thank you for your prompt reply.

I have had a look at the web site you directed me to and I would
like to clarify/refine my initial question:

* "Notifiable Offences Recorded" by Ward are not there for the
years 2002 or 2003 - the ones listed are by District. This is
clearly an inadvertent inconsistency in the data provision,
therefore can you please supply me "Notifiable Offences Recorded"
by Ward for 2002 & 2003 and all years prior to 2001 that are
available?

* Also, the data for the most recent year 2007/08 is not there -
can you please supply me with "Notifiable Offences Recorded" by
Ward for 2008 (i.e. year to end Mar-08 consistent with the other
data)?

Thank you for your help, it is much appreciated. Incidently, you
may be interested to know that I want to use the data for use on
this web site my company created
http://www.banjax.com/sandbox/crime/

Yours sincerely, Darryl Collins

Subject: F-2008-03597

July 18, 2008

Dear Mr. Collins,

FREEDOM of INFORMATION ACT 2000

I refer to your correspondence of 17 July 2008 and wish to advise you
that the matter is receiving attention.

Should you have any further inquiries concerning this matter, please
write or contact Freedom of Information Team On 02890700164 quoting the
reference number above.

Yours sincerely

Mr Gordon Reid
A/Head of Freedom of Information

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Dear Mr. Collins,

I apologise for the delay in responding to you. I have contacted
our

Statistics Branch who supplied the information for the original
response

to you and they have informed me that they are aware of the
inconsistencies

and are presenlty working to rectify the situation but that the
web site

will not be updated until the end of August this year.

I hope this is of assistance to you.

Thank you
Don Maginnes
FOI Team
ext 22650

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Dear Mr Maginnes,

Thank you for your response. I look forward to seeing the updated
consistent data later this month.

Will this include new data for the most recent year i.e. to Mar-08?

Yours sincerely, Darryl Collins