FOI Catalytic Converter Thefts (0333-2022/23)

Request

The number of catalytic converter thefts recorded by your force in each of the last five calendar years (2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021).

If possible, can you also provide a breakdown of the outcomes recorded for these offences in each year?"

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 data retrieval process generally relies on computer ran reports which highlight information held within specified fields. Where information is held outside of these fields a manual review of all crimes is necessary to obtain the information required. As ‘Catalytic Converter Theft’ is not a specific field we would need to manually review all crimes to ascertain which are relevant to your request. This would involve reading through hundreds of crimes, 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, if you wish to refine your submission and request a free text search of the crime MO field, we may be able to provide some information for you. Please note that you will need to provide a list of appropriate search terms and any results would rely entirely on the officer recording the information at the time of the offence. 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.