Further request for information in relation to Female Mutilation
Reference: 21018
Date Added: Thursday, July 8, 2021
Category:
Disclosure Details
Thank you for your recent request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Two duties are placed on public authorities under Section 1 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA). Notwithstanding applicable exemptions, the first duty at, Section 1(1) (a), is to confirm or deny whether the information specified in a request is held. The second duty at, Section1 (1) (b), is to disclose information that has been confirmed as being held. Under the provisions of those sections of the FOIA, we can confirm that the information you seek is not held by the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Gwent. Please find response below.
Please can you advise why no prosecutions have taken place EVER in the South Wales Area of this serious offence despite your office running campaigns on issues like domestic violence and child abuse?
No Information held
The Freedom of Information Act is about information that an organisation holds. The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner does not hold information on prosecutions. As stated in the response to your request on the 23rd June 2021, you will need to contact Gwent Police if you would like to request operational policing information in this area. Although we have run campaigns on issues such as those you refer to, it’s to raise awareness which would then hopefully encourage reporting of incidents to the Police. We are a separate organisation to Gwent Police so we cannot take these reports and do not have access to the systems recording any of the information that may have subsequently been reported.
I note in your request you refer to the South Wales area. Gwent Police covers the areas of Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly, Monmouthshire, Newport and Torfaen. If you wish to request this information for the South Wales Policing area then you will need to submit a separate request to them via their website Request information about the police | South Wales Police (south-wales.police.uk)
The Freedom of Information Act is a public disclosure regime, not a private regime. Any information disclosed under the Act is thereafter deemed to be in the public domain, and therefore freely available to the general public and will be published on the OPCC website.
I hope this information is satisfactory to your request however, should you feel dissatisfied with this response or the way in which your request was handled, information on the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Gwent FOI Appeals Procedure can be found on our website: http://www.gwent.pcc.police.uk/en/transparency/know-your-rights/your-information-rights/freedom-of-information/appeals-process/