Police pursuits of vehicles by police vehicles

Dear Requester,

We acknowledge receipt of your correspondence received 23/09/2021 00:00:00
which is being dealt with as a request for information in accordance with
the Freedom of Information Act 2000 or the Environmental Information
Regulations.

We are in the process of dealing with your request and will respond in due
course and in any case by 20/10/2021 00:00:00.

Please note if we require further details to identify and locate the
requested information we will contact you for clarification via email. If
clarification is required please be aware the 20 working day clock will
start the day the Constabulary receives the necessary clarification.

Please contact us by email at [email address] if you have
any further enquiries.

Regards

The Requests Team

Information Compliance

Cheshire Constabulary HQ

Clemonds Hey

Oakmere Road

Winsford

Cheshire

CW7 2UA

Tel - 01606 362384

This communication is intended for the addressee(s) only. Please notify
the sender if received in error. Internet email is not to be treated as a
secure means of communication. The Constabulary monitors all Internet and
email activity and requires it is used for official communications only.
Thank you for your co-operation.

Dear Mr Jones,

YOUR REQUEST:

Please can you provide the following information in relation to police
pursuits initiated by your force for the period Jan 2019 to Dec 2020

Please provide the following information, aggregated by the suspected
offence that initiated the pursuit (in case of multiple offences provide
the most serious):

 1. Number of pursuits that succeeded in arresting the main suspect 
 2. Number of pursuits that failed in arresting the main suspect 
 3. Number of pursuits that ended in the suspect being charged with an
offence other than an offence that occured during the pursuit (eg
speeding, dangerous driving etc) 
 4. Number of pursuits that ended in the suspect being convicted of an
offence other than an offence that occured during the pursuit (eg
speeding, dangerous driving etc 
 5. Number of pursuits that ended in the suspect being convicted of the
offence that they were suspected of when the pursuit was initiated 
 6. Number of pursuits that resulted in the injury or death of an
unconnected person (eg general public)

OUR RESPONSE:

In accordance with section 1(1) (b) of the Act, our response is as
follows:

Section 1 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) places two duties
on public authorities.  Unless exemptions apply, the first duty at
s1(1)(a) is to confirm or deny whether the information specified in a
request is held.  The second duty at s1(1)(b) is to disclose information
that has been confirmed as being held.  Where exemptions are relied upon
Section 17 of the FOIA requires that we provide the applicant with a
notice which: a) states that fact; b) specifies the exemptions in question
and c) state (if that would not otherwise be apparent) why the
exemption(s) applies.

From our preliminary assessment we are unable to provide this as it would
exceed the appropriate costs limit under section 12 of the Freedom of
Information Act 2000. This is currently £450. The basis for this
calculation is the cost of retrieving the data to answer your questions.

To obtain the relevant information relating to the above request we would
need to read through every incident/occurrence relating to this subject to
ascertain whether they were charged and whether they were convicted and
the reason for the charge. There are over 500 incidents/occurrences
relating to this subject. It would take one member of staff approximately
10 minutes per record equating to in excess of 83 hours of work. Your
entire request is therefore refused.

The appropriate limit is defined in the Data Protection and Freedom of
Information (Fees and Appropriate Limit) Regulations 2004, which is
covered by statutory Instrument Number 3244 of 2004. Furthermore, Section
12 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 allows a public authority to
refuse to respond to a request for information where the cost of
compliance would exceed the appropriate limit as defined by the above
mentioned regulations.

However to assist we may be able to provide some statistical data within
cost, for example we could offer statistics in relation to Q1, Q2 & Q6.

If you are not satisfied with the decision applied in this case I enclose
for your attention a copy of the Constabulary's appeal procedures.

Regards

Julie Watson – Request Compliance Officer

Cheshire Constabulary and Cheshire Fire & Rescue Service Joint Corporate
Services

Information Compliance | Cheshire Constabulary | Clemonds Hey | Oakmere
Road | Winsford | Cheshire | CW7 2UA

Phone: 01606 362384| Visit [1]www.cheshire.police.uk |
[2]www.cheshirefire.gov.uk | Follow [3]@cheshirepolice and @CheshireFire
on Twitter | Like [4]Cheshire Police and Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service
on Facebook

[5]cid:image001.png@01D336C2.D0FEEF40

This communication is intended for the addressee(s) only. Please notify
the sender if received in error. Internet email is not to be treated as a
secure means of communication. The Constabulary monitors all Internet and
email activity and requires it is used for official communications only.
Thank you for your co-operation.

References

Visible links
1. http://www.cheshire.police.uk/
2. http://www.cheshirefire.gov.uk/
3. http://www.twitter.com/cheshirepolice
4. http://www.facebook.com/cheshirepolice

Dear Requester,

We acknowledge receipt of your correspondence received 19/10/2021 00:00:00
which is being dealt with as a request for information in accordance with
the Freedom of Information Act 2000 or the Environmental Information
Regulations.

We are in the process of dealing with your request and will respond in due
course and in any case by 15/11/2021 00:00:00.

Please note if we require further details to identify and locate the
requested information we will contact you for clarification via email. If
clarification is required please be aware the 20 working day clock will
start the day the Constabulary receives the necessary clarification.

Please contact us by email at [email address] if you have
any further enquiries.

Regards

The Requests Team

Information Compliance

Cheshire Constabulary HQ

Clemonds Hey

Oakmere Road

Winsford

Cheshire

CW7 2UA

Tel - 01606 362384

This communication is intended for the addressee(s) only. Please notify
the sender if received in error. Internet email is not to be treated as a
secure means of communication. The Constabulary monitors all Internet and
email activity and requires it is used for official communications only.
Thank you for your co-operation.

Dear N. Jones,

YOUR REQUEST:

Please provide the statistics that you mentioned you have in relation to
Q1,Q2,Q6 (Cheshire Constabulary FOI request 14284). Also if you have any
other data that goes some way to answering my overall question (how
effective are police chases in arresting someone for the offence of which
they were suspected) then please provide that also.

Between January 2019 – December 2020:

Q1 - Number of pursuits that succeeded in arresting the main suspect 

Q2 - Number of pursuits that failed in arresting the main suspect 

Q6 - Number of pursuits that resulted in the injury or death of an
unconnected person (eg general public)

OUR RESPONSE:

In accordance with section 1(1) (b) of the Act, our response is as
follows:

Q1 – There were 558 pursuits which resulted in arrest between January 2019
– December 2020.

Q2 – There were 288 pursuits which ended with the suspect not being
detained at the time between January 2019 – December 2020.

Q6 – 3 persons unconnected to pursuits received minor injuries between
January 2019 – December 2020. There were no fatalities of unconnected
persons during the requested period.

If you are not satisfied with the decision applied in this case I enclose
for your attention a copy of the Constabulary's appeal procedures.

Regards,

George McEvoy

Request Compliance Officer

Cheshire Constabulary and Cheshire Fire & Rescue Service Joint Corporate
Services

Information Compliance | Cheshire Constabulary | Clemonds Hey | Oakmere
Road | Winsford | Cheshire | CW7 2UA

Visit [1]www.cheshire.police.uk | [2]www.cheshirefire.gov.uk | Follow
[3]@cheshirepolice and @CheshireFire on Twitter | Like [4]Cheshire Police
and Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service on Facebook

[5]cid:image001.png@01D336C2.D0FEEF40

This communication is intended for the addressee(s) only. Please notify
the sender if received in error. Internet email is not to be treated as a
secure means of communication. The Constabulary monitors all Internet and
email activity and requires it is used for official communications only.
Thank you for your co-operation.

References

Visible links
1. http://www.cheshire.police.uk/
2. http://www.cheshirefire.gov.uk/
3. http://www.twitter.com/cheshirepolice
4. http://www.facebook.com/cheshirepolice