Kerb-crawling and soliciting arrests/convictions

The request was partially successful.

Dear Avon and Somerset Constabulary,

I am writing to make an open government request for all the information to which I am entitled under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Would you be able to respond with the following information:

1) What is the number of arrests and convictions that your force holds for the following two offences over the last ten years? (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017.)

A) Arrests for kerb-crawling each year and fines or convictions, giving the amount fined in each case if possible and the nature of the conviction.

B) Soliciting (selling) prostitution in public, giving exact number of arrests per year, as well as exactly what was the charge and conviction was (e.g. what exact sentence or fine the offence resulted in.)

If this request is too wide or unclear, I would be grateful if you could contact me as I understand that under the Act, you are required to advise and assist requesters. If any of this information is already in the public domain, please can you direct me to it, with page references and URLs if necessary.

If the release of any of this information is prohibited on the grounds of breach of confidence, I ask that you supply me with copies of the confidentiality agreement and remind you that information should not be treated as confidential if such an agreement has not been signed.

I understand that you are required to respond to my request within the 20 working days after you receive this letter. I would be grateful if you could confirm in writing that you have received this request.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours faithfully,

Phoebe

#Freedom of Information Requests, Avon and Somerset Constabulary

 

 

Corporate Communications Department

Force Headquarters, PO Box 37, Valley Road,

Portishead, Bristol, BS20 8QJ

    

     

     

Phoebe Our Reference 1409/18

[1][FOI #529437 email]>
Date 31^st October
 

 

 

Dear Phoebe

 

I write in connection with your request for information dated 31^st
October. Under Section 8 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 we require
a full name in order to process a request. Therefore please provide us
with your full name.

 

I will be unable to start to process your request until I have received
your full name. If your full name is not received within 20 working days
this request will be closed.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Becky Berridge

Deputy Freedom of Information Officer

Corporate Information Management Department

 

Please note;

1.     Requests and responses may be published on Avon and Somerset
Constabulary’s website (within 24 hours), some of which may contain a link
to additional information, which may provide you with further
clarification.

2.     Whilst we may verbally discuss your request with you in order to
seek clarification, all other communication should be made in writing.

3.     Avon and Somerset Constabulary provides you with the right to
request a re-examination of your case under its review procedure.

 

 

 

 

References

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1. mailto:[FOI #529437 email]

To whom this may concern,

Following up on my previous email, I would like to confirm that my surname is Cooke - I believe you require this information to proceed.

Yours sincerely,

Phoebe Cooke

Dear #Freedom of Information Requests,

My full name is Phoebe Cooke.

Yours sincerely,

Phoebe

#Freedom of Information Requests, Avon and Somerset Constabulary

Thanks Phoebe.

Your request will now be considered and you will receive a response within the statutory timescale of 20 working days as defined by the Act. In some circumstances Avon and Somerset Constabulary may be unable to achieve this deadline if consideration needs to be given to the public interest test. If this is likely you will be informed and given a revised time-scale at the earliest opportunity.

show quoted sections

#Freedom of Information Requests, Avon and Somerset Constabulary

 

 

Corporate Communications Department

Force Headquarters, PO Box 37, Valley Road,

Portishead, Bristol, BS20 8QJ

Facsimile 01275 814667

    

  Our Reference 1409/18

Phoebe Cooke
Date 19 November
[1][FOI #529437 email]>

 

 

Dear Ms Cooke

 

Thank you for your request which I have copied below. In order for us to
provide you with the information you require some clarification is
necessary.

 

1) What is the number of arrests and convictions that your force holds for
the following two offences over the last ten years? (2008, 2009, 2010,
2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017.)

 

A) Arrests for kerb-crawling each year and fines or convictions, giving
the amount fined in each case if possible and the nature of the
conviction.

 

B) Soliciting (selling) prostitution in public, giving exact number of
arrests per year, as well as exactly what was the charge and conviction
was (e.g. what exact sentence or fine the offence resulted in.)

 

Please can you clarify what particular information you are seeking in
question A. Can you please clarify what you mean by the nature of the
conviction?  

 

I will be unable to start to process your request until I have received
your clarification. If your clarification is not received within 20
working days this request will be closed.

Yours sincerely,

 

Mark Ratajczak

 

Freedom of Information Research Officer

Corporate Communications Department

 

Please note;

1.     Requests and responses may be published on Avon and Somerset
Constabulary’s website (within 24 hours), some of which may contain a link
to additional information, which may provide you with further
clarification.

2.     Whilst we may verbally discuss your request with you in order to
seek clarification, all other communication should be made in writing.

3.     Avon and Somerset Constabulary provides you with the right to
request a re-examination of your case under its review procedure.

 

 

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[FOI #529437 email]

Dear #Freedom of Information Requests,

Thanks for your clarification query.

You asked: "Please can you clarify what particular information you are seeking in
question A. Can you please clarify what you mean by the nature of the
conviction?"

My response is that I now understand it is not possible for forces to provide data on conviction relating to these offences.

Therefore I would like to amend my current response so that I am only asking about arrests data relating to kerb-crawling and soliciting, and nothing relating to conviction.

Are you able to confirm that you understand my clarification and that you are able to proceed with the amended request?

Yours sincerely,

Phoebe Cooke

#Freedom of Information Requests, Avon and Somerset Constabulary

Good Morning Phoebe

Thank you for your amended request. We understand the clarification and are processing your request.

Kind Regards,

Mark
Freedom of Information Research Officer

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#Freedom of Information Requests, Avon and Somerset Constabulary

2 Attachments

Corporate Communications Department

Force Headquarters, PO Box 37, Valley Road,

Portishead, Bristol, BS20 8QJ

Email [email address]    

 

 

 

 

Phoebe Cooke Our Reference 1409/18

[FOI #529437 email] Date 30 November 2018

 

 

Dear Ms Cooke

 

I write in connection with your request for information dated 31^st
October 2018 under the Freedom of Information Act.

 

Specifically you asked:

1) What is the number of arrests and convictions that your force holds for
the following two offences over the last ten years? (2008, 2009, 2010,
2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017.)

 

A) Arrests for kerb-crawling each year and fines or convictions, giving
the amount fined in each case if possible and the nature of the
conviction.

 

B) Soliciting (selling) prostitution in public, giving exact number of
arrests per year, as well as exactly what was the charge and conviction
was (e.g. what exact sentence or fine the offence resulted in.)

 

 

Clarification received 22^nd November 2018:

 

I would like to amend my current response so that I am only asking about
arrests data relating to kerb-crawling and soliciting, and nothing
relating to conviction.

 

 

Our response:

 

Due to a change in our recording system we are unable to electronically
retrieve full calendar year information prior to 2016.

 

Please see the available information below:

 

A.    Please see the number of arrests for kerb crawling in the table
below:

 

+-------------------------------+
|Year |Arrests |
|--------------+----------------|
|2016 | 38|
|--------------+----------------|
|2017 | 45|
+-------------------------------+

 

B.    There were no arrests for soliciting in 2016 or 2017.

 

 

 

Becky Berridge

Deputy Freedom of Information Officer

 

Corporate Communications Dept  |  Avon and Somerset Police

Force HQ, Valley Road, Portishead, North Somerset, BS20 8QJ

 

Tel  01278 646797  |  Ext 46797

Email  [1][email address]

 

[2]www.avonandsomerset.police.uk  |  Follow us on [3]Twitter and
[4]Facebook

 

[5]ASP-Email-Signature-258px-Nov2018

 

References

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1. mailto:[email address]
2. http://www.avonandsomerset.police.uk/
3. https://twitter.com/ASPolice
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