Crimes linked to faith or belief
31st December 2024
Request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 Ref No: FOI2024/08470
I write in connection with your request for information received on 29th November. I note you seek access to the following information:
For context, this request is related to crimes of abuse linked to faith or belief as defined by the Metropolitan Police in the link below (the Met’s definition is specially about children whereas I am looking at cases involving children and/or adults) -
https://www.met.police.uk/advice/advice-and-information/caa/child-abuse/faith-based-abuse. It states: "Abuse linked to faith or belief is where concerns for a (person’s) welfare have been identified, and could be caused by, a belief in witchcraft, spirit or demonic possession, ritual or satanic abuse features; or when practices linked to faith or belief are harmful to a (person)."
Abuse linked to faith or belief is also defined here in this government national action plan
For each calendar year 2021, 2022, 2023 and for the period 1st January 2024 to 28th November 2024, please could you tell me:
1) The number of cases of abuse linked to faith or belief (as defined above) that have been reported
2) A brief description of each case and the outcome if known (i.e. arrest, charge, on bail, no further action, etc)
3) The number of crime reports where the term "witch", or "witchcraft", or "demon", or "exorcism" is mentioned in the MO field of the crime report
4) A brief description of each reported crime from your answer to question 3) and the outcome if known (i.e. arrest, charge, on bail, no further action, etc)
I am required by the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (The Act) to handle all requests in a manner that is blind to the identity of the requestor. Any information released in response to a request is regarded as being published and therefore, in the public domain without caveat.
Following enquiries within Bedfordshire Police Force please see our response below.
*Please note
The attached data is a result of a word search. The Crime Text was filtered and scanned through. The keywords highlighted in the tables below are recorded in the Incident Summary, which does not necessary mean that the specific crime actually relates to a faith or belief.
Recorded Crime
Incident Summary - WORD SEARCH
Dates between: 1.1.2021 - 30.11.2024
|
Word search |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
2024 |
Grand Total |
|
Witch |
11 |
4 |
10 |
12 |
37 |
|
Violence Against The Person |
9 |
3 |
9 |
10 |
31 |
|
Public Order Offences |
2 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
6 |
|
Satan |
2 |
6 |
1 |
2 |
11 |
|
Violence Against The Person |
1 |
5 |
1 |
1 |
8 |
|
Public Order Offences |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
|
Sexual Offences |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
|
DEMON |
2 |
2 |
3 |
0 |
7 |
|
Violence Against The Person |
2 |
2 |
3 |
0 |
7 |
|
WITCHCRAFT |
4 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
6 |
|
Violence Against The Person |
3 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
4 |
|
Damage and Arson Offences |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
|
Public Order Offences |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
|
EXORCISM |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
|
Violence Against The Person |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
|
Grand Total |
19 |
13 |
16 |
14 |
62 |
Recorded Crime
Incident Summary - WORD SEARCH
Dates between: 1.1.2021 - 30.11.2024
|
Word search / Crime Group |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
2024 |
Grand Total |
|
WITCH |
11 |
4 |
10 |
12 |
37 |
|
Violence Against The Person |
9 |
3 |
9 |
10 |
31 |
|
1 - Charged/Summons |
|
|
|
1 |
1 |
|
8 - Community Resolution |
3 |
|
|
|
3 |
|
14 - Victim does not support, no named suspect |
1 |
|
2 |
|
3 |
|
15 - Suspect, victim supports, evidential difficulties |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
4 |
|
16 - Suspect, victim does not support |
2 |
2 |
6 |
4 |
14 |
|
18 - Investigation Complete |
2 |
|
|
2 |
4 |
|
20 - Further action undertaken by another body/agency |
|
|
|
1 |
1 |
|
Unsolved |
|
|
|
1 |
1 |
|
Public Order Offences |
2 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
6 |
|
14 - Victim does not support, no named suspect |
|
1 |
|
|
1 |
|
16 - Suspect, victim does not support |
2 |
|
|
1 |
3 |
|
18 - Investigation Complete |
|
|
1 |
1 |
2 |
|
SATAN |
2 |
6 |
1 |
2 |
11 |
|
Violence Against The Person |
1 |
5 |
1 |
1 |
8 |
|
16 - Suspect, victim does not support |
1 |
5 |
1 |
1 |
8 |
|
Public Order Offences |
1 |
1 |
|
|
2 |
|
14 - Victim does not support, no named suspect |
1 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
16 - Suspect, victim does not support |
|
1 |
|
|
1 |
|
Sexual Offences |
|
|
|
1 |
1 |
|
16 - Suspect, victim does not support |
|
|
|
1 |
1 |
|
DEMON |
2 |
2 |
3 |
|
7 |
|
Violence Against The Person |
2 |
2 |
3 |
|
7 |
|
14 - Victim does not support, no named suspect |
1 |
|
1 |
|
2 |
|
16 - Suspect, victim does not support |
|
2 |
2 |
|
4 |
|
20 - Further action undertaken by another body/agency |
1 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
WITCHCRAFT |
4 |
1 |
1 |
|
6 |
|
Violence Against The Person |
3 |
|
1 |
|
4 |
|
15 - Suspect, victim supports, evidential difficulties |
1 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
16 - Suspect, victim does not support |
2 |
|
|
|
2 |
|
18 - Investigation Complete |
|
|
1 |
|
1 |
|
Damage and Arson Offences |
|
1 |
|
|
1 |
|
16 - Suspect, victim does not support |
|
1 |
|
|
1 |
|
Public Order Offences |
1 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
15 - Suspect, victim supports, evidential difficulties |
1 |
|
|
|
1 |
|
EXORCISM |
|
|
1 |
|
1 |
|
Violence Against The Person |
|
|
1 |
|
1 |
|
16 - Suspect, victim does not support |
|
|
1 |
|
1 |
|
Grand Total |
19 |
13 |
16 |
14 |
62 |
The numerical data presented in this response is an un-audited snapshot of un-published data sourced from "live" systems and is subject to the interpretation of the original request by the individual extracting the data.