FOI 794/25

REQUEST

For 2024:

1. How many instances of squatting reported to your police force..
2. In residential properties/ land
3. In commercial properties/ land

For 2023:

1. How many instances of squatting reported to your police force..
2. In residential properties/ land
3. In commercial properties/ land

For 2022:

1. How many instances of squatting reported to your police force..
2. In residential properties/ land
3. In commercial properties/ land

RESPONSE

Your request for information has now been considered and I am not obliged to supply the information you have requested.       

In relation to your request, the following exemption applies:

Section 12 – Exemption where cost of compliance exceeds appropriate limit.

We consulted with our analysts who have advised that the data you have requested is not routinely collated in the format that would easily answer your query. There is no specific qualifier on our crime & incident recording system to identify ‘squatting’ reports. Reports of squatting could be recorded under a number of different occurrence types e.g. criminal damage, ASB, theft etc. To retrieve the requested data would require manual interrogation of thousands of occurrences to identify those that related to reports of squatting.

Whilst I cannot quantify exactly how long this would take it would most certainly exceed the 18 hours stipulated by the regulations.

It is estimated that the cost of providing you with the information is above the amount to which we are legally required to respond i.e. the cost of locating and retrieving the information exceeds the "appropriate level" as stated in the Freedom of Information (Fees and Appropriate Limit) Regulations 2004.

In the case of the police service, the appropriate limit is £450 which has been calculated to equate to a total of 18 hours of work.