FOI Sexual Offences (577-2024/25)
Request
Q1. The number of rape and sexual offences recorded from September 2023 - September 2024? Can this be broken down by type of sexual offence?
Q2. Age of victim
Q3. Age of suspect/perpetrator
Q4. Of those, how many were charged?
Response
Extent and Result of Searches to Locate Information
To locate the information relevant to your request searches were conducted within North Yorkshire Police. I can confirm that the information you have requested is held by North Yorkshire Police.
Decision
I have today decided to disclose the located information to you which is correct as of 10 October 2024.
Q1. Please see the table below which details the number of sexual offences including rape, recorded by North Yorkshire Police from 01 September 2023 to 31 August 2024, broken down by offence type. Please note that the total count of some of the offence types are exempt and have been replaced with <7 pursuant to Section 40(2) Personal Information. Please see the full exemption explanation below.
|
Offence Type |
Count |
|
Sexual Assault On A Female Aged 13 And Over |
504 |
|
Rape Of A Female Aged 16 And Over |
444 |
|
Sexual Activity Involving Child Under 16 |
187 |
|
Exposure And Voyeurism |
143 |
|
Sexual Assault On A Female Child Under 13 |
132 |
|
Sexual Activity Involving A Child Under 13 |
122 |
|
Rape Of A Female Child Under 16 |
102 |
|
Sexual Assault On A Male Aged 13 And Over |
90 |
|
Other Miscellaneous Sexual Offences |
61 |
|
Sexual Grooming |
57 |
|
Rape Of A Female Child Under 13 |
50 |
|
Sexual Assault On A Male Child Under 13 |
40 |
|
Rape Of A Male Aged 16 And Over |
28 |
|
Rape Of A Male Child Under 13 |
26 |
|
Incest Or Familial Sexual Offences |
8 |
|
Causing Sexual Activity Without Consent |
8 |
|
Rape Of A Male Child Under 16 |
7 |
|
Abuse Of Children Through Sexual Exploitation |
<7 |
|
Rape Of A Female - Multiple Undefined Offenders |
<7 |
|
Sexual Activity Etc With A Person With A Mental Disorder |
<7 |
|
Unlawful Sexual Intercourse With A Girl Under 16 |
<7 |
|
Rape Of A Male - Multiple Undefined Offenders |
<7 |
|
Total |
2025 |
Q2. Please see the table below which details the number of sexual offences including rape, recorded by North Yorkshire Police from 01 September 2023 to 31 August 2024, broken down by victim age. I note that these ages have been grouped pursuant to Section 40(2) Personal Information. Please see the full exemption explanation below.
|
Age Group |
Count |
|
0-5 |
95 |
|
6-10 |
152 |
|
11-15 |
638 |
|
16-18 |
206 |
|
19-30 |
403 |
|
31-40 |
221 |
|
41-50 |
145 |
|
51-60 |
74 |
|
61-70 |
19 |
|
71-80 |
10 |
|
81+ |
15 |
|
Not Recorded |
109 |
|
Total |
2087 |
Q3. Please see the table below which details the number of sexual offences including rape, recorded by North Yorkshire Police from 01 September 2023 to 31 August 2024, broken down by suspect age. I note that these ages have been grouped pursuant to Section 40(2) Personal Information. Please see the full exemption explanation below.
|
Age Group |
Count |
|
0-17 |
10 |
|
18-20 |
9 |
|
21-30 |
46 |
|
31-40 |
35 |
|
41-50 |
10 |
|
51-60 |
16 |
|
61-70 |
7 |
|
71-80 |
<7 |
|
81+ |
0 |
|
Not Recorded |
1952 |
|
Total |
2087 |
Q4. Of the above which have been finalised, 107 people have been charged.
Section 40 – Personal Information
I have disassociated the tables and removed certain details in relation to some of the victim and suspect age groups pursuant to section 40(2) – Personal Information. This is to refrain from particular incidents becoming identifiable and consequently the personal details of any persons involved being disclosed.
Where an individual can be identified by such data, releasing it would clearly breach the first data protection principle of being ‘fair’ to the data subject.
Section 17 of the Act requires North Yorkshire Police, when refusing to provide such information (because the information is exempt) to provide you the applicant with a notice which: (a) states that fact, (b) specifies the exemption in question and (c) states (if that would not otherwise be apparent) why the exemption applies.
Section 40(2) is an absolute class based exemption, which does not require a public interest test, but requires the balancing of the legitimate interests of the public against the interests of the individual under the first Data Protection Principle; in that processing of personal data must be lawful and fair (DPA 2018 35(1), EUGDPR Article 5(1)).
This exemption applies because the right given under the FOI Act to request official information held by public authorities does not apply to the personal data of third parties where disclosure of that information would not be fair to the individual, and where there is no legitimate public interest in disclosure.
In all the circumstances of the case it has been determined that the duty to the individual under the Data Protection Act 2018 & EU General Data Protection Regulations, and the public interest in maintaining the exemption from disclosure of personal information held by the force in such instances, outweighs the public interest in disclosure. In this instance, personal information can only be disclosed to the individual concerned.
Releasing personal details to a person other than the data subject would not only breach the data subject’s Data Protection rights it may also breach the obligations placed on an authority under the European Convention on Human Rights.
Pursuant to Section 17(1) of the Act this letter acts as a refusal notice under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 in relation to your request.
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.