Foraging and picking plants

14 May 2025

Request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 Ref No:FOI2025/03332     

I write in connection with your request for information received on 15th April.  I note you seek access to the following information:

I would like to submit a request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) regarding foraging or picking of plants. Please provide the relevant information for the period between 1 April 2022 and the most recent date for which data is available.

Please could you provide the following:

1.The number of reports made to your force about foraging or picking of plants. Please could you provide the following breakdown:

a. A yearly breakdown of the number of reports made about foraging or picking of plants.

b. The approximate location (for example: name of the park or road) at which the foraging or picking of plants allegedly took place.

c. Whether the report of foraging or picking of plants led to a charge.

d. The names of the offences under which these charges were made.

e. The number of these charges which proceeded to conviction.

If you need to carry out a key terms search to locate these records, please include the terms “foraged”, “foraging”, “wild food”, “forager”, “wild ingredients”. If you would document these cases in another way, please include these results as per the spirit of my request.

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 your request, searches were conducted at Bedfordshire Police for information relating to Reports Made About Foraging Or Picking Of Plants

These searches failed to locate any records / documents relevant to your request.

Accordingly, I have determined that Bedfordshire Police do not hold the information you have requested.