Upskirting incidents reported

Request Number: FOI/16696

Category: Operational policing, Investigations and Events - Investigations and Operations

Subject: Upskirting incidents reported

Your request for information has now been considered. In respect of Section 1(1)(a) of the Act we can confirm that the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) does hold information to which your request relates. The decision has been taken not to supply the information you have requested and the reasons for this are set out in more detail below. We have also provided you with links to guidance issued by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) which we have followed in responding to your request.

Question 1
Under the Voyeurism (Offences) Act 2019
How many incidents of upskirting were reported to your police force in each of the years 2019-2025, broken down by calendar year

Question 2
How many incidents resulted in an arrest and/or charge?

Question 3
Can you provide data on the approximate age of the victim at the time of the offence (20s, 30s, 40s etc) in each of the years 2019- 2025?

Answer
To assist with this request, PSNI can advise that the Voyeurism (offences) Act 2019 does not apply in Northern Ireland. Additional Voyeurism act offences were introduced under the Justice (Sexual Offences and Trafficking Victims) Act (Northern Ireland) 2022, effective end November 2023, including Voyeurism: Additional Offences Genitals and Buttocks, commonly known as ‘Upskirting’. Prior to this specific offence being introduced, offences involving these circumstances would have been recorded as Voyeurism. This information is publicly available in table 2.2 in the Annual trends in Police Recorded Crime 1998/99 – 2024/25.
https://www.psni.police.uk/about-us/our-publications-and-reports/official-statistics/police-recorded-crime-statistics

PSNI can confirm that there have been a total of 18 crimes recorded since the legislation was introduced in NI, however we are exempting any further breakdowns or details of this data as the dataset is extremely small and when combined with the low overall number of recorded offences and narrow timeframes, there is a significant risk of indirect identification of victims. Additionally, a large proportion of these offences relate to an ongoing investigation. disclosure of age-band data in this context could reasonably be expected to prejudice that investigation, as well as cause distress to victims and their families. Sections 30(1)(a)(i), 38(1)(a) and (b) and 40(2) are therefore engaged. These exemptions will be explained further below.

Section 17(1) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) requires the Police Service of Northern Ireland, when refusing to provide such information (because the information is exempt) to provide you the applicant with a notice which:

1. states that fact,
2. specifies the exemption in question and
3. states (if not otherwise apparent) why the exemption applies.

The exemptions, as well as the factors the Department considered when deciding where the public interest lies, are listed below:

Section 30(1)(a) – Investigations Conducted by Public Authorities
Information held by a public authority is exempt information if it has at any time been held by the authority for the purposes of – any investigation which the public authority has a duty to conduct with a view to it being ascertained (i) whether a person should be charged with an offence – Investigations

Section 38(1)(b) – Health & Safety
Information is exempt information if its disclosure under this Act would, or would be likely to (b) endanger the safety of any individual.

Section 40(2)(a)(b) by virtue of 40(3)(A)(a) Personal Information
Information constitutes personal data and disclosure would contravene any of the Data Protection principles.

The full text of exemptions can be found at www.legislation.gov.uk and further guidance on how they operate can be located on the Information Commissioners Office website www.ico.org.uk.

Exemptions Explained

Section 30 is a class based exemption which means that if the information is of the type referred to within the exemption then the exemption applies to it without any consideration of the harm. It is also a qualified exemption which means that a public interest test must be carried out and the factors in relation to this are illustrated below.

Section 38 is a prejudice based qualified exemption which means that the legislators have identified that the harm (prejudice) in disclosure as well as the public interest considerations need to be evidenced and articulated to the applicant.

Section 40(2) of the FOIA is an absolute exemption which means there is no requirement on the PSNI to consider whether there is a public interest in disclosure. It is an interface exemption and we must consider whether release of the information would breach the General Data Protection Regulations (‘GDPR’) or the Data Protection Act 2018 (‘DPA’) Third party personal information in relation to postcodes, and therefore this information constitutes information which can identify individuals is ‘personal data’ under the GDPR (Article 4) and DPA (Part 1 s.3).

Section 40
Under the Freedom of Information Act, PSNI must consider if information can be released into the public domain. We have therefore considered whether the disclosure of this personal data is subject to the exemption at Section 40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 by virtue of S40 (3)(A)(a). As this information is ‘personal data’, PSNI considered whether disclosure would contravene any of the six data protection principles contained within the GDPR.

The six data protection principles are good information handling standards which PSNI must comply with in relation to how it handles personal information, including deciding whether to disclose it or not. In particular, the first principle requires personal data to be processed ‘fairly and lawfully’. In considering whether it is ‘fair’ to any individual to release information about them, PSNI considered the likely expectations of those individuals and the nature of the information involved. Individuals must have confidence that their information is treated sensitively and appropriately by PSNI. When anyone provides personal data to the PSNI they will have an expectation that it will be treated fairly. The PSNI has a duty to protect the personal data of all members of the public and any disclosure of this type of data into the public domain that relates or could be used to identify persons who have been involved in an incident will be unfair to any individual concerned. The public must have confidence that their information is treated sensitively and appropriately and we consider those individuals would not have any reasonable expectation PSNI would disclose such information of this nature about them. We consider it would be extremely unfair to those individuals and therefore a breach of the first principle of data protection legislation. This information is therefore exempt under section 40 (2) of the FOIA as it contravenes data protection legislation to release it and the PSNI has made the decision to withhold that information.

Harm for Section 38
The information you have requested may be potentially harmful to family members and other relatives and friends of the victims and affected parties. Consequently we consider releasing this information in the manner requested would or would be likely to endanger the mental health of those who have sight of the requested information in a Freedom of Information release into the public domain.

Section 38 provides an exemption from disclosing information if such a disclosure would endanger any individual and is wide enough to include those members of the general public including family members of the victims. It is our view (and that of the Information Commissioner) that in order to demonstrate a danger to mental health under Section 38, clinical evidence of a psychiatric condition is not necessary. This has been confirmed by the Information Tribunal in the PETA case (PETA v Information Commissioner & University of Oxford EA/2009/0076). It also explained however that the effect of the disclosure upon any individual’s mental health must “go beyond stress or worry".

Factors Favouring Release – Section 38
Release of the information would promote openness and transparency of records held by the PSNI. Disclosure would improve the public’s knowledge and understanding surrounding these types of incidents.

Factors Favouring Retention – Section 38 
Given the nature of the information requested, the PSNI consider that release would cause distress to relatives and friends of the victims and would be likely to endanger the mental health of any individual. Disclosure could result in a loss of confidence in the police service to protect individuals. In addition, the release of such data risks enabling “jigsaw identification” when combined with information already in the public domain, including media reporting and court proceedings. This would be contrary to PSNI safeguarding obligations and established ICO guidance on small-number statistics involving vulnerable individuals.

Balancing/Decision - Section 38
Although there is a strong public interest in openness and transparency of records held by the PSNI, there is a stronger public interest in PSNI duty of care to all individuals involved in such investigations. The PSNI will not release any information if to do so could cause serious detriment to the mental health of any individual.

Factors Favouring Release - Section 30
Disclosing this information would assist in showing that the PSNI are conducting thorough investigations into such incidents. There is much public interest in ensuring that this and any other
Investigation is undertaken professionally and rigorously and disclosure of the requested information could promote public trust in providing transparency, demonstrating openness and accountability into how investigations take place. Releasing the information may better inform the public and encourage others to come forward to report criminal offences if they know a proper investigation will be undertaken. All police investigations involve the use of public funds and this information could allow the public to make informed decisions about police procedures and the money spent in this business area.

Factors Favouring Retention – Section 30
The information requested is held for the purposes of investigations and therefore if the PSNI were to release the requested information at this time it could seriously compromise and undermine investigations, thus hindering the course of justice by prematurely releasing information resulting in loss of evidence or alerting a suspect. Any disclosure could infringe on a suspect’s right to a fair trial and also the rights of the victims if a prosecution were to fail due to disclosure of the information. Also, for maintaining the independence of the judicial and prosecution process and preserving the criminal court as the sole forum for determining guilt

It is the Association of Chief Police Officers approach that information relating to an investigation will rarely be disclosed under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act. Whilst information may be released if it provides a tangible community benefit, for example to prevent or detect crime or to protect life or property, it is hard to see how the information here will do so.

It would therefore not be in the public interest to release information which would in turn impact on police resources and lead to more crime being committed, placing individuals at risk and an investigation or the outcome of subsequent proceedings could be compromised

Balancing/Decision - Section 30
In this case PSNI considers the balance of the public interest favours retention of this requested information. Although there is a public interest in the transparency of investigations, the police service has a greater duty of care to all individuals involved in any investigation. The police service will not disclose information which could prejudice any future evidential opportunities. The requested information is held as part of a police investigation. Such a file would contain personal information of individuals involved in the police investigation.

The release of information under the FOIA is a release into the public domain and not just to the individual making the request. Once information is disclosed under FOI there is no control or limits as to who or how the information is shared with other individuals, therefore a release under FOI is considered a disclosure to the world in general.

Therefore PSNI are satisfied that in this case the public interest factors favouring retention outweigh those favouring release as the interests in accountability can rarely defeat the interests in a fair investigation and trial. Therefore, the public interest, in this instance, is best served by not releasing the information to which you seek access.