FOI 961/25

Request

Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, please provide the following information:

1. The total number of reported incidents involving cycling and motorcycling under the influence of alcohol or drugs for each of the past five years (please provide separate yearly breakdowns for bicycles and motorcycles).
2. Of these incidents, how many resulted in arrests, cautions, or penalties being issued? (Please provide separate yearly breakdowns for bicycles and motorcycles.)
3. For each of these incidents, please provide a breakdown by the age and gender of those involved (separately for bicycles and motorcycles, by year).

Response 

A search has been completed using our crime and incident reporting system (Niche RMS) for occurrences recorded under the below Home Office Codes:

• 137/13/N/BEING DRUNK IN CHARG/RT88058: Riding pedal cycle under the influence of drink or drugs
• 141/2/N/DRUNK IN CHARGE PEDA: Drunk in charge pedal cycle
• 803/1/N/DRIVE MPV WHILST UNF: Drive mpv whilst unfit drink/drugs
• 803/13/N/DRUG ABOVE SPECIFIED: DRIVE A MOTOR VEHICLE WITH THE PROPORTION OF SPECIFIED CONTROLLED DRUG ABOVE SPECIFIED LEVEL Contrary to section 5A(1)(a) and (2) of the Road Traffic Act 1988 and Schedule 2 to the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988.
• 803/2/N/DRIVE M/V EXCESS ALC: Drive m/v excess alcohol
• 803/3/N/FAIL SUPPLY SPECIMEN: Fail supply specimen for analysis
• 803/4/N/IN CHARGE MPV WHILST: In charge mpv whilst unfit drink/drugs
• 803/5/N/IN CHARGE M/V WITH E: In charge m/v with excess alcohol
• 803/7/N/FAIL PROVIDE SPECIME: Fail provide specimen breath

For 2024 alone we have 1579 records. The data you have requested is not routinely collated in the format that would easily answer your query, therefore, to accurately answer your request we would need to individually interrogate all occurrences recorded to provide the breakdown you require as both motor vehicles and motorcycles both fall within the offences above, with the exception of the top two offences which relate specifically to pedal cycles.

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.

If any part of the request exceeds the fees limit, then Section 12 applies to the whole request.

In accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000, this letter acts as a refusal notice.

Excess cost removes the forces obligation under the Freedom of Information Act, however under Section 16 – Duty to provide advice and assistance, an authority is required to offer an applicant the opportunity to redefine their request within the cost limit. Unfortunately, due to the way in which data is recorded, we can see no feasible way in which you could refine your request.