FOI 0728-2023/24 - Dog attacks

Request:

Q1. The number of dog attacks on a person each month within the last six months, and what the breed of dog was

Q2. The number of fatal dog attacks on a person each month within the last six months, and what the breed of dog was

Q3. The number of dog attacks on another dog each month within the last six months, and what breed of dog the attacker was

Q4. The number of fatal dog attacks on another dog each month within the last six months, and what breed of dog the attacker was

Q5. The number of arrests made over dog attacks and dangerous dogs each month within the last six months, and what breed the dog was

Q6. The number of dogs destroyed after a police incident each month in the last six months, and what breed the dog was

Response:

Extent of Searches to Locate Information

Following receipt of your request searches were conducted within North Yorkshire Police to locate relevant information. 

Decision

I am not obliged to provide you with a response to your request pursuant to Section 12(1) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act). Please note that when one part of your request falls under Section 12, we are not obliged to review the rest of the questions and the whole request is therefore exempt.

Section 12(1) applies to your request as the cost of complying with your request is above the amount to which we are legally required to respond i.e. the cost of identifying and retrieving any relevant information exceeds the ‘appropriate level’ as stated in the Freedom of Information (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004.

Due to the nature of our recording systems the information requested, if held, is not in an easily retrievable format. Our information retrieval process generally relies on a computer ran report which captures any information recorded upon the surface of a record or within specified fields. Where relevant information is held deeper in the record, or outside of a specified field, a manual assessment is required to retrieve that information.

In order to retrieve the requested information, it would be necessary to manually review all crimes recorded relating to dangerous dogs/dog attacks within the timeframe requested to ascertain the specific breed of dog that was involved. Also, a manual read of each crime would be needed to establish what, if any outcome had been achieved and if the dog that was involved in the attack was in fact destroyed, which would exceed the time limit allowed under the Act. 

Pursuant to Section 17(5) of the Freedom of Information Act this letter acts as a Refusal Notice.

Pursuant to Section 16 of the Act I am required to offer you advice and assistance with regarding to refining your request to within the ‘appropriate limit’ (time/cost limit). However, due to the information provided above I am unable to suggest how you may refine your request and still receive the information within the cost threshold.  If you wish to discuss this please do not hesitate to contact me.

Please note that systems used for recording information are not generic, nor are the procedures used locally in capturing the data.  It should be noted therefore that this force’s response to your questions should not be used for comparison purposes with any other responses you may receive.