Transport crime

The request was successful.

Dear West Midlands Police,

Following your press release on the "baffling" crime spike in March (http://www.west-midlands.police.uk/np/bi...) can you please provide the following:

1. All raw data that the press release was based on, including but not limited to:

a) numbers of crimes by month, 2007-2012 involving 'bus passenger victims' (as they are described in your press release)

b) breakdown by crime by victim's job or similar classification (the release mentions two thirds being students - so whichever classification was used to arrive at that figure)

c) the number of bus trips made by month (the release mentions 'one offence in every 147,000 bus trips')

d) in addition, please provide data to the detail of the location (however recorded, including bus route or stop) and type of crime.

2. The 'data dictionary' listing what information is recorded relating to crime, or crime on public transport.

The simplest and quickest way of providing this data may be as a raw data dump for those fields with each incident occupying a row.

Please provide the format in digital format (CSV or Excel spreadsheet) as per Government guidance.

If I can help clarify the request in any way, please let me know.

Yours faithfully,

Paul Bradshaw

Freedom of Information,

Dear Mr Bradshaw

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000

Thank you for your request for information.

Your request is being considered and we will endeavour to provide a response within the statutory timescale of 20 working days, as defined by the Act, subject to the application of any statutory exemptions. Where consideration is being given to the application of any exemptions the 20 working day timescale may be extended under the terms of the Act to a period considered reasonable depending on the nature and circumstances of your request. In such cases you will be notified and, where possible, a revised time-scale will be indicated. In all cases we shall attempt to deal with your request at the earliest opportunity.

There may be a fee payable for the retrieval, collation and provision of the information requested, where the request exceeds the statutory limit. In such cases you will be informed in writing and the 20 working day timescale will be suspended until we receive payment from you or your request is modified and /or reduced. If you chose not to make full payment or modify your request then the request will remain unanswered.

Your request may require either full or partial transfer to another public authority. You will be informed if your request is transferred.

Yours sincerely

Freedom of Information Unit
Information Services
Tel: 0345 113 5000

To report crime and anti-social behaviour which does not require an emergency response please call 101. In an emergency call 999. For all other enquiries (or for callers outside the West Midlands), dial 0345 113 5000

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Freedom of Information,

Dear Mr Bradshaw

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000

 

Thank you for your request for information, received 08 March 2013
concerning transport crime statistics. This request is being handled under
the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

 

I am writing to ask you to clarify your request. This is because we are
not certain that we have understood your request correctly

 

Request

 

1. All raw data that the press release was based on, including but not
limited to:

    

 a) Numbers of crimes by month, 2007-2012 involving 'bus passenger
victims' (as they are described in your press release)

 

Please clarify which type of crime you require and also what you mean by
‘bus passenger victims’?

 

Do you require recorded crime or detected crime figures?  Do you require
theft from a person, robbery and/ or criminal damage where the victim is
described as being a passenger on a bus, or something else?

 

 

b) Breakdown by crime by victim's job or similar classification (the
release mentions two thirds being students - so whichever classification
was used to arrive at that figure)

    

Is your request for a breakdown of the percentage of crimes or students?
Please note that not all victim details are contained within a crime
report.

 

c) The number of bus trips made by month (the release mentions 'one
offence in every 147,000 bus trips')

 

This request will need to be made to Centro. You are welcome to contact
them directly or if you would like me to forward this part of your request
please confirm this instruction in writing and I will send it on your
behalf

 

    

d) In addition, please provide data to the detail of the location (however
recorded, including bus route or stop) and type of crime.

 

Please provide the offence type. Do you require recorded crime or detected
crime figures, theft from a person, robbery and/ or criminal damage where
the victim is described as being a passenger on a bus, or something else
and for what time frame.

 

2. The 'data dictionary' listing what information is recorded relating to
crime, or crime on public transport.

    

What is meant by 'data dictionary'?

 

Please contact me if you need assistance with this.

 

To enable us to proceed with your request I would be grateful if you could
provide the clarification outlined above. After receiving your reply, your
request will be considered and you will receive a response within the
statutory timescale of 20 working days, as defined by the Act, subject to
the application of any statutory exemptions. If you choose not to respond
then your request will remain unanswered.

 

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Susan Brown

Freedom of Information Unit

Information Services

Tel: 0345 113 5000

ext: 7630 6110

 

To report crime and anti-social behaviour which does not require an
emergency response please call 101. In an emergency call 999. For all
other enquiries (or for callers outside the West Midlands), dial 0345 113
5000

Website: [1]www.west-midlands.police.uk
Twitter: [2]www.twitter.com/wmpolice
Facebook: [3]www.facebook.com/westmidlandspolice
YouTube: [4]www.youtube.com/westmidlandspolice

Flickr: [5]www.flickr.com/westmidlandspolice

 

[6]View all our social network links

 

Our vision: Serving our communities, protecting them from harm

 

This email is intended for the addressee only and may contain privileged
or confidential information. If received in error, please notify the
originator immediately. Any unauthorised use, disclosure, copying or
alteration of this email is strictly forbidden. Views or opinions
expressed in this email do not necessarily represent those of West
Midlands Police. All West Midlands Police email activity is monitored for
virus, racist, obscene, or otherwise inappropriate activity. No
responsibility is accepted by West Midlands Police for any loss or damage
arising in any way from the receipt or use of this email.

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Dear Susan,

Re: a) "Please clarify which type of crime you require and also what you mean by ‘bus passenger victims’?"

All recorded crimes, please, including classification used. My request specified that I am looking for the same definition as your organisation has used in its press release, for which a link was given in the original.

Theft from a person, robbery and/ or criminal damage where the victim is described as being a passenger on a bus, would be fine, thank you.

b) Re: "Is your request for a breakdown of the percentage of crimes or students?" I would like a breakdown of crimes by victim's job - this would include unclassified where no information was recorded, and in whole numbers rather than percentages. e.g. Student: 660 Unclassified: 50 Butcher: 10

Re: c) Please do forward this part to Centro on my behalf, and thank you for doing so.

Re: d) Recorded crime please, including theft from a person, robbery and/ or criminal damage where the victim is described as being a passenger on a bus. For the timeframe 2007-2012 as identified at the start of the request (sorry if that was not clear).

Re: 2. A 'data dictionary' is a list of fields contained in a database, representing what data is collected, e.g. first name, last name, profession, location of crime, classification code, etc.

Note that this is a list of fields, not the information entered in those fields - in other words it a list of the types of information stored, not the actual information itself.

Yours sincerely,

Paul Bradshaw

Dear Susan,

Following my earlier response clarifying the request, the request has now passed the 4 weeks limit. Can you please indicate when I can expect the response?

Yours sincerely,

Paul Bradshaw

Freedom of Information,

Dear Mr Bradshaw

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000

With reference to your recent request for information, we apologise that the force has not yet provided a response.

An increase in the volume of requests and staff abstractions within the department has, unfortunately, caused a delay with some requests. The force is currently experiencing a significant back log.

However, the force will endeavour to reply as soon as possible.

If you are dissatisfied with the way West Midlands Police has handled your request, you are entitled to pursue the matter with the Information Commissioners Office at www.ico.gov.uk or in writing to:

The Information Commissioners Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Thank you

Kind regards

Freedom of Information Unit
Information Services
Tel: 0345 113 5000

To report crime and anti-social behaviour which does not require an emergency response please call 101. In an emergency call 999. For all other enquiries (or for callers outside the West Midlands), dial 0345 113 5000

Website: www.west-midlands.police.uk
Twitter: www.twitter.com/wmpolice
Facebook: www.facebook.com/westmidlandspolice
YouTube: www.youtube.com/westmidlandspolice
Flickr: www.flickr.com/westmidlandspolice

View all our social network links

Our vision: Serving our communities, protecting them from harm

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Susan Brown,

2 Attachments

Dear Mr Bradshaw

 

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000

 

Further to your email, received 12 March 2013 concerning bus crime I am
pleased to enclose the following information.  Please note that these data
are the closest we hold to your request. They should not be interpreted as
representing anything other than as described in this response.

 

Please find attached our response.

 

Please note that these data should be interpreted with caution. Comparing
numbers of crimes can be misleading and does not necessarily indicate the
likelihood of someone being a victim of crime. In addition, the number of
incidents/crimes recorded in an area over a period of time can be
influenced by a number of factors. Consequently statistics on
incidents/crimes for one period may not necessarily be a good indicator of
future incidents in that area.

 

Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and
complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been
extracted from a number of data sources used by forces for police
purposes. The detail collected to respond specifically to your request is
subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system.
As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes
and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when interpreting
those data.

 

The figures provided therefore are our best interpretation of relevance of
data to your request but you should be aware that the collation of figures
for ad hoc requests may have limitations and this should be taken into
account when those data are used.

 

If you decide to write an article / use the enclosed data we would ask you
to take into consideration the factors highlighted in this document so as
to not mislead members of the public or official bodies or misrepresent
the relevance of the whole or any part of this disclosed material.

 

Your attention is drawn to your right to request a re-examination of your
case under West Midlands Police review procedure, which can be found at:

 

http://www.west-midlands.police.uk/pdf/F...

 

Please note that such an appeal must be received within 40 working days of
the date of this correspondence.

 

If you require any further information, then please do not hesitate to
contact me.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

 

Susan Brown

Freedom of Information Unit

Information Services

Tel: 0345 113 5000

ext: 7630 6110

 

To report crime and anti-social behaviour which does not require an
emergency response please call 101. In an emergency call 999. For all
other enquiries (or for callers outside the West Midlands), dial 0345 113
5000

Website: [1]www.west-midlands.police.uk
Twitter: [2]www.twitter.com/wmpolice
Facebook: [3]www.facebook.com/westmidlandspolice
YouTube: [4]www.youtube.com/westmidlandspolice

Flickr: [5]www.flickr.com/westmidlandspolice

 

[6]View all our social network links

 

Our vision: Serving our communities, protecting them from harm

 

This email is intended for the addressee only and may contain privileged
or confidential information. If received in error, please notify the
originator immediately. Any unauthorised use, disclosure, copying or
alteration of this email is strictly forbidden. Views or opinions
expressed in this email do not necessarily represent those of West
Midlands Police. All West Midlands Police email activity is monitored for
virus, racist, obscene, or otherwise inappropriate activity. No
responsibility is accepted by West Midlands Police for any loss or damage
arising in any way from the receipt or use of this email.

References

Visible links
1. https://exchange.wmpad.local/owa/redir.a...
2. https://exchange.wmpad.local/owa/redir.a...
3. https://exchange.wmpad.local/owa/redir.a...
4. https://exchange.wmpad.local/owa/redir.a...
5. https://exchange.wmpad.local/owa/redir.a...
6. https://exchange.wmpad.local/owa/redir.a...

Dear Susan,

Many thanks for this. I did request the data in digital spreadsheet format - can I please have the crime data (the second attachment 3477 ans 02.pdf ) in CSV or Excel format?

Likewise the tables embedded in the other PDF response.

Yours sincerely,

Paul Bradshaw

Susan Brown,

2 Attachments

Hello

Please find attached CSV file instead of the PDF for 3477_ans_02 and a word document instead of the PDF for 3477_ans_01 ( I was unable to CSV 3477_ans_01)

Regards

Susan Brown
Freedom of Information Unit
Information Services
Tel: 0345 113 5000
ext: 7630 6110

To report crime and anti-social behaviour which does not require an emergency response please call 101. In an emergency call 999. For all other enquiries (or for callers outside the West Midlands), dial 0345 113 5000

Website: www.west-midlands.police.uk
Twitter: www.twitter.com/wmpolice
Facebook: www.facebook.com/westmidlandspolice
YouTube: www.youtube.com/westmidlandspolice
Flickr: www.flickr.com/westmidlandspolice

View all our social network links

Our vision: Serving our communities, protecting them from harm

show quoted sections