Coercive control 2015-2018

The request was successful.

Dear Merseyside Police,

Would you kindly be able to tell me:

1. How many people were arrested under Section 76 of the Serious Crime Act 2015 for 'Controlling or Coercive Behaviour in an Intimate or Family Relationship' in (please provide data for each full year respectively):
2015
2016
2017
2018

2. Also, can you provide a breakdown of the official recorded crime outcomes of the arrests set out above in Q1 (charged, cautioned, no further action etc.), for each of the 4 years respectively: 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018.

Yours faithfully,

Christina Savage

Freedom Of Information, Merseyside Police

Your email to the Merseyside Police Freedom of Information (FOI) in box is
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If it contains an initial (new) request under FOI it will be dealt with in
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Freedom Of Information, Merseyside Police

1 Attachment

Dear Ms Savage

Response Letter - FOI Application DM2019/0117 (please quote in all
correspondence)

I write in connection with your request for information which was received
by Merseyside Police on 21/01/2019. I note that you seek access to the
following information:

(paraphrased) statistics relating to cases of “Controlling or Coercive
Behaviour In An Intimate or Family Relationship” recorded each year from
2015 - 2018

Following receipt of your request searches were conducted within
Merseyside Police to locate information relevant to your request. I can
confirm that the information that you requested is held by Merseyside
Police.

To locate the information relevant to your request, searches were
conducted in the Data Access Unit.  The searches located the records
relevant to your request.

I have today decided to disclose the located information to you. Please
find attached my full Response Table.

Complaint Rights

Your attention is drawn to the information following this response, which
details your rights of review and of complaint.

Should you have any further enquiries concerning this matter, please write
to or e-mail me at the below address, quoting the reference number above.

Yours sincerely

Mr D May
Disclosure Analyst
FOI Team
Data Access Unit
Merseyside Police
PO BOX 59
LIVERPOOL L69 1JD
E-mail: [1][Merseyside Police request email]

Making a complaint or appeal about your Freedom of Information response

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Merseyside Police

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[2]http://www.ico.org.uk

 

 

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References

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Christina Savage

Dear Mr D May

Thank you for this information.

I was hoping you could help me clarify; there were 15 arrests for 'coercive control' in 2016, but 82 outcomes. How can this be? Is that because the arrest is logged under one crime when they arrive and is later reclassified?

Yours sincerely,

Christina Savage

Freedom Of Information, Merseyside Police

Your email to the Merseyside Police Freedom of Information (FOI) in box is
acknowledged.

 

If it contains an initial (new) request under FOI it will be dealt with in
accordance with section 10 of the Act which means that you are entitled to
receive a response no later than 20 working days after the first working
day* on which your request is received.

 

Other arrangements may apply if a fees notice is issued or if the time
period is extended in order that public interest considerations of our
response may take place. Section 10 also allows public authorities to
apply variations to the normal 20 working day timescale in some limited
circumstances.

 

Due to the volume of e-mail correspondence and FOI applications received,
the Force regrets that individual acknowledgement e-mails will not be sent
even if specifically requested.

 

If the correspondence cannot be dealt with as FOI, it will be forwarded
internally and you will be advised of the location. Any related
communication must be direct to the identified location and not the FOI
e-mail address.

 

*The ‘working day’ is defined as any day other than a Saturday, a Sunday,
Christmas Day, Good Friday or a day which is a bank holiday under the
Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971 in any part of the United Kingdom.
The first reckonable day is the working day after the working day of
receipt.

============================================================

This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended
solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed.

If you have received this email in error please notify the sender as soon
as possible.

This footnote confirms that all reasonable steps have been taken to
ensure that this email message has been swept for the presence of
computer viruses.

The views expressed in this communication may not necessarily be the
views of Merseyside Police.

All communications, including telephone calls and electronic messages to
and from Merseyside Police may be subject to monitoring and recording.

============================================================

Freedom Of Information, Merseyside Police

Dear Ms Savage

Yes, the answer is basically as you have suggested: a person can be
arrested for one type of offence, which would be logged as the Arrest
Reason, but when questioned and investigated in custody, other matters may
come to light which the arrested individual would be processed for.  For
example, a person arrested for assault might be taken into custody and
then found to also be in possession of controlled drugs and some stolen
property.

Coercive/Controlling Behaviour in a relationship is more a pattern of
behaviour than an individual act, therefore it is perhaps more likely that
an individual might be arrested for a specific offence, such as a matter
of domestic violence, and then when the matter is looked into further it
becomes clear that the assault was just part of sustained and ongoing
abuse over a period of time, hence a more applicable crime might
subsequently be recorded.

Apologies for any confusion, I attempted to explain this in the Additional
Information column in the Response Table you were provided with.  I hope
this clarifies things for you.

Yours sincerely

Mr D May
Disclosure Analyst
Data Access Unit
Merseyside Police
Email: [Merseyside Police request email]

show quoted sections

Christina Savage

Thank you very much for the clarification - that makes sense.

Yours sincerely,

Christina Savage

Freedom Of Information, Merseyside Police

Your email to the Merseyside Police Freedom of Information (FOI) in box is
acknowledged.

 

If it contains an initial (new) request under FOI it will be dealt with in
accordance with section 10 of the Act which means that you are entitled to
receive a response no later than 20 working days after the first working
day* on which your request is received.

 

Other arrangements may apply if a fees notice is issued or if the time
period is extended in order that public interest considerations of our
response may take place. Section 10 also allows public authorities to
apply variations to the normal 20 working day timescale in some limited
circumstances.

 

Due to the volume of e-mail correspondence and FOI applications received,
the Force regrets that individual acknowledgement e-mails will not be sent
even if specifically requested.

 

If the correspondence cannot be dealt with as FOI, it will be forwarded
internally and you will be advised of the location. Any related
communication must be direct to the identified location and not the FOI
e-mail address.

 

*The ‘working day’ is defined as any day other than a Saturday, a Sunday,
Christmas Day, Good Friday or a day which is a bank holiday under the
Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971 in any part of the United Kingdom.
The first reckonable day is the working day after the working day of
receipt.

============================================================

This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended
solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed.

If you have received this email in error please notify the sender as soon
as possible.

This footnote confirms that all reasonable steps have been taken to
ensure that this email message has been swept for the presence of
computer viruses.

The views expressed in this communication may not necessarily be the
views of Merseyside Police.

All communications, including telephone calls and electronic messages to
and from Merseyside Police may be subject to monitoring and recording.

============================================================