Drone reports in 2017

The request was successful.

Dear West Mercia Police,

I represent a national directory of commercial drone operators. I am trying to give some clarity to our members on media reports.

It has been reported in the media following an FOI request from a Dr Alan McKenna, that there was a nationwide increase in drone related 101/999 reports in 2017, up 32% on 2016.
Amongst these calls there will be calls from legal drone operators to notify the police of the fact they're operating in an area of risk, say a city centre for example or within a school. There will be calls from people who have lost a drone or had one stolen by someone else. Therefore it's unlikely all the calls related to crimes that were actually being committed using a drone. I seek to clarify this.
Can you answer any of the following:

1. Can you breakdown the categories of the all calls relating to drones? I.e. how many calls were from legal operators, how many were reports of noise nuisance and so on?

2. Of the calls made to the police on the subject of drones, how many calls actually turned out to be crimes being committed? How many were attended by officers and how many led to an arrest?

3. In total, how many calls were made to your force through 101/999 in 2017 on all subject matters?

Yours faithfully,

Lee Ballard

Information Compliance West Mercia, West Mercia Police

 
 
Dear Mr Ballard
 
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST REFERENCE NOs: West Mercia Police 9707 and
Warwickshire Police 00445
 
I write in connection with your request for Warwickshire Police and West
Mercia Police information which was dated and received on 22nd May 2018.
 
Your request will now be considered in accordance with the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 (the Act).  You will receive a response within the
statutory timescale of 20 working days as defined by the Act, subject to
the information not being exempt or containing a reference to a third
party.  In some circumstances Warwickshire Police and West Mercia Police 
may be unable to achieve this deadline.  If this is likely you will be
informed and given a revised time-scale at the earliest opportunity.
 
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Should you have any further enquiries concerning this matter, please write
or telephone the Information Compliance Unit quoting the reference number
above.
 
 
Yours sincerely
 
 
 
Sue Cale
Information Compliance Administrator
Information Compliance Unit
Warwickshire Police & West Mercia Police
P O Box 55
Hindlip  WR3 8SP
 
DD 01905 331545 (Ext. 2545)
[email address]
 
 
 
 

[1]Putting Victims FirstPutting Victims First
Warwickshire Police and West Mercia Police are committed to providing the
best possible service to our communities and putting victims at the heart
of everything we do.

For information on services and support given to our victims by us and our
criminal justice partners visit our websites:

Warwickshire Police: [2]www.warwickshire.police.uk/puttingvictimsfirst
West Mercia Police: [3]www.westmercia.police.uk/puttingvictimsfirst

References

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3. http://www.westmercia.police.uk/puttingv...

Information Compliance West Mercia, West Mercia Police

 
 
Dear Mr Ballard
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST REFERENCE NOs:  West Mercia Police 9707 and
Warwickshire Police 00445
I write in connection with your requests for information received on 22nd
May 2018.
I regret to inform you that West Mercia Police and Warwickshire Police has
not been able to complete its response to your request within the 20
working days .
I am unable to provide a specific timescale for response but every effort
will be made to ensure an appropriate response will be made as soon as
possible.
Please accept my apologies for any inconvenience caused.
Your attention is drawn to the below which details your right of
complaint.
Should you have any further enquiries concerning this matter, please write
or telephone the Information Compliance Unit quoting the reference number
above.
Yours sincerely
 
Information Compliance Unit
Warwickshire Police & West Mercia Police
PO Box 55
Hindlip
Worcester
WR3 8SP
01905 331545 / 331565
 
West Mercia Police in complying with their statutory duty under sections 1
and 11 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to release the enclosed
information will not breach the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
However, the rights of the copyright owner of the enclosed information
will continue to be protected by law. Applications for the copyright
owner’s written permission to reproduce any part of the attached
information should be addressed to The Force Solicitor, West Mercia Police
Headquarters, PO Box 55, Hindlip, Worcester, WR3 8SP.
COMPLAINT RIGHTS
Are you unhappy with how your request has been handled or do you think the
decision is incorrect?
You have the right to require West Mercia Police (WMP) to review their
decision.
Prior to lodging a formal complaint you are welcome and encouraged to
discuss the decision with the person that dealt with your request.
Ask to have the decision looked at again -
The quickest and easiest way to have the decision looked at again is to
telephone the person named at the end of your decision letter.
That person will be able to discuss the decision, explain any issues and
assist with any problems.
Complaint
If you are dissatisfied with the handling procedures or the decision of
WMP made under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act) regarding
access to information, you can lodge a complaint with WMP to have the
decision reviewed. WMP must be notified of your intention to complain
within 20 working days of the date of its response to your Freedom of
Information request. Complaints should be made in writing and addressed
to:
West Mercia Police Headquarters
Information Compliance Unit
Hindlip Hall
Hindlip
PO Box 55
Worcester
WR3 8SP
or
email: [1][West Mercia Police request email]
 
In all possible circumstances, WMP will aim to respond to your complaint
within 2 months.
The Information Commissioner
After lodging a complaint with WMP if you are still dissatisfied with the
decision you may make application to the Information Commissioner for a
decision on whether the request for information has been dealt with in
accordance with the requirements of the Act.
For information on how to make application to the Information Commissioner
please visit their website at [2]https://ico.org.uk/ Alternatively, phone
or write to:
Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
 
Tel: 0303 123 1113 (local rate) or 01625 545 745 if you prefer to use a
national rate number
Fax: 01625 524 510
 
 
 
 

[3]Putting Victims FirstPutting Victims First
Warwickshire Police and West Mercia Police are committed to providing the
best possible service to our communities and putting victims at the heart
of everything we do.

For information on services and support given to our victims by us and our
criminal justice partners visit our websites:

Warwickshire Police: [4]www.warwickshire.police.uk/puttingvictimsfirst
West Mercia Police: [5]www.westmercia.police.uk/puttingvictimsfirst

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[west%20mercia%20police%20request%20email]
2. https://ico.org.uk/
4. https://www.warwickshire.police.uk/putti...
5. http://www.westmercia.police.uk/puttingv...

Information Compliance, West Mercia Police

5 Attachments

 
 
Dear Ballard
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST REFERENCE NOs:  West Mercia Police 9707 and
Warwickshire Police 00445
I write in connection with your requests for information which were
received on 22^nd May 2018.  Please find below the responses to your
requests for West Mercia Police and Warwickshire Police information:
1. Can you breakdown the categories of the all calls relating to drones?
I.e. how many calls were from legal operators, how many were reports of
noise nuisance and so on?
2. Of the calls made to the police on the subject of drones, how many
calls actually turned out to be crimes being committed? How many were
attended by officers and how many led to an arrest?
3. In total, how many calls were made to your force through 101/999 in
2017 on all subject matters?
REPLY: Please see the attached tables.
The forces have defined calls as incidents for the purpose of this
request, the command and control system can receive other forms of
communications which would be omitted from this FOI if it focussed just on
calls e.g. e-mails etc.
 
Please be advised that the forces cannot ascertain if the calls were from
legal operators.  The numbers of incidents have been provided which match
the keyword “Drone”, UAV" or "Unmanned a" (excluding incidents where
drones have been used for a policing purpose) by disposal description.
 
For the crimes committed the forces have counted the crime reference
numbers generated by the incidents from the keyword search (The crime
reference numbers include crimes and crimed incidents).
 
The number of incidents attended was calculated by counting the number of
keyword incidents where the first response time was not null.
 
The command and control system is not linked to the custody system
therefore the forces have provided the outcome of a crime references
generated from the incidents of the key word search.
 
The forces have included the number of incidents and the number incidents
with a  call origin 999 and 101 for 2017.
 
 
West Mercia Police 9707:
 

Question 3
Number of Incidents in 2017 316564
Number of incidents with call origin of 999 in 2017 91906
Number of incidents with call origin of 101 in 2017 189402

 
Warwickshire Police 00445:
 

Question 3
Number of Incidents in 2017 154,778
Number of 999 calls in 2017 40,822
Number of calls from Warwickshire police numbers (includes 101 83,329
calls).

 
Every effort has been made to ensure that the information provided by our
SSI Department is as accurate as possible
Your attention is drawn to the below which details your right of
complaint.
Should you have any further enquiries concerning this matter, please write
or telephone the Information Compliance Unit quoting the reference number
above.
Yours sincerely
 
Mrs R Williams
Information Compliance Unit
Warwickshire Police & West Mercia Police
PO Box 55
Hindlip
Worcester
WR3 8SP
01905 331545 / 331565
 
West Mercia Police in complying with their statutory duty under sections 1
and 11 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to release the enclosed
information will not breach the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
However, the rights of the copyright owner of the enclosed information
will continue to be protected by law. Applications for the copyright
owner’s written permission to reproduce any part of the attached
information should be addressed to The Force Solicitor, West Mercia Police
Headquarters, PO Box 55, Hindlip, Worcester, WR3 8SP.
COMPLAINT RIGHTS
Are you unhappy with how your request has been handled or do you think the
decision is incorrect?
You have the right to require West Mercia Police (WMP) to review their
decision.
Prior to lodging a formal complaint you are welcome and encouraged to
discuss the decision with the person that dealt with your request.
Ask to have the decision looked at again -
The quickest and easiest way to have the decision looked at again is to
contact the person named at the end of your decision letter.
That person will be able to discuss the decision, explain any issues and
assist with any problems.
Complaint
If you are dissatisfied with the handling procedures or the decision of
WMP made under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act) regarding
access to information, you can lodge a complaint with WMP to have the
decision reviewed. WMP must be notified of your intention to complain
within 20 working days of the date of its response to your Freedom of
Information request. Complaints should be made in writing and addressed
to:
West Mercia Police Headquarters
Information Compliance Unit
Hindlip Hall
Hindlip
PO Box 55
Worcester
WR3 8SP
or
Email:  [West Mercia Police request email]
In all possible circumstances, WMP will aim to respond to your complaint
within 20 working days.
The Information Commissioner
After lodging a complaint with WMP if you are still dissatisfied with the
decision you may make application to the Information Commissioner for a
decision on whether the request for information has been dealt with in
accordance with the requirements of the Act.
For information on how to make application to the Information Commissioner
please visit their website at [1]https://ico.org.uk/ Alternatively, phone
or write to:
Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Phone: 0303 123 1113 (local rate) or 01625 545745 if you prefer to use a
national rate number
Fax:    01625 524 510
 
 
 
 

References

Visible links
1. https://ico.org.uk/

Dear Information Compliance,

Thank you for your help.

Yours sincerely,

Lee Ballard