2022/25240 - Cuckooing

REQUEST

 

Where possible, please could you provide me with the following figures for the year April 2021 - March 2022 (if you do not collect or cannot provide data for one of the categories below, please provide data for the categories that you do or can provide data for):

 

How many people has the force identified as victims of 'cuckooing' i.e. the practice of taking over the home of an individual in order to establish a base for the purpose of criminal activity?

 

Of those people identified as victims of cuckooing how many were:

 

(a) male

 

(b) female

 

(c) under the age of 18

 

(d) over the age of 65

 

(e) vulnerable adults

 

(f) dependent on drugs or alcohol

 

(g) disabled or learning disabled

 

(h) unemployed

 

 

 

Of those people identified as victims of cuckooing how many have been

 

 

(a) arrested, and

 

(b) charged with criminal offences related to the activities taking place in their property.

 

Of those people identified as victims of cuckooing who were subsequently arrested and charged with criminal offences related to the activities taking place in their property, which offences were they charged with?

 

 

How many people has the force identified as perpetrators of 'cuckooing'?

 

Of those identified as perpetrators of 'cuckooing' how many were:

 

 

(a) male

 

(b) female

 

(c) vulnerable adults

 

(d) aged 16 - 17

 

(e) aged 15 or under

 

 

Of those identified as perpetrators of 'cuckooing' how many have been:

 

(a) arrested, and

 

(b) charged with criminal offences related to the cuckooing activity?

 

 

Of those people identified as perpetrators of cuckooing who were subsequently arrested and charged with criminal offences related to the cuckooing activity?:

 

 

Which offences were they charged with?

 

how many people were charged under section 1 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 or section 2 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015?

 

 

 

RESPONSE

 

1) How many people has the force identified as victims of 'cuckooing' i.e. the practice of taking over the home of an individual in order to establish a base for the purpose of criminal activity?

 

Of those people identified as victims of cuckooing how many were:

 

Male

 

Female

 

Under the age of 18

 

Over the age of 65

 

Vulnerable adults       - Please see below exemptions (Section 40)

 

Dependent on drugs or alcohol

 

Disabled or learning disabled

 

Unemployed

 

 

Of those people identified as victims of cuckooing how many have been

 

Arrested - 0

 

Charged with criminal offences related to the activities taking place in their property - 0

 

Of those people identified as victims of cuckooing who were subsequently arrested and charged with criminal offences related to the activities taking place in their property, which offences were they charged with? - Unknown

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2) How many people has the force identified as perpetrators of 'cuckooing'? - 4

 

Of those identified as perpetrators of 'cuckooing' how many were:

 

Male - 3

 

Female - 1

 

Vulnerable adults – None were identified as vulnerable

 

Aged 16 – 17 - 0

 

Aged 15 or under - 0

 

Of those identified as perpetrators of 'cuckooing' how many have been:

 

Arrested 4

 

Charged with criminal offences related to the cuckooing activity? – Unknown

 

Of those people identified as perpetrators of cuckooing who were subsequently arrested and charged with criminal offences related to the cuckooing activity?

 

Which offences were they charged with? - Unknown

 

how many people were charged under section 1 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 or section 2 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015? – 0

 

Section 40(2) Personal Information

 

The exemption applicable to the information you have requested for this question can be found at Section 40(2) Personal Information, of the Act and this refusal notice is issued under Section 17.

 

Due to the low number of offenders, the chances of identification are extremely high.

Information of this nature is the personal sensitive information of that individual. 

 

To make a disclosure here would be in breach of the first GDPR data protection principle (DPA Act 2018) which is for data to be processed lawfully, fairly and transparently.  Also, it may lead to the identification of individuals concerned or permit further information to be gleaned around the circumstances of each case.

Gwent Police is withholding the information you have requested on the basis that the exemption contained in s 40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act applies in that the information you have requested is personal data of third parties and the disclosure of the data would breach one of the principles contained in the Data Protection Act. The relevant principle is the first principle which states that:

Personal data shall be processed fairly and lawfully and in particular shall not be processed unless –

(a) at least one of the conditions in Schedule 2 is met and

(b) in the case of sensitive personal data, at least one of the conditions in Schedule 3 is met

It is only necessary to consider (a) in respect of the information requested. The relevant condition in Schedule 2 is condition 6 which states that:

"The processing is necessary for the purposes of legitimate interests pursued by the data controller or by the third party or parties to whom the data are disclosed, except where the processing is unwarranted in any particular case by reason of prejudice to the rights and freedoms or legitimate interests of the data subject"