Child Abuse at Nursery Schools

Please could you answer the following questions under the Freedom of Information Act about children being sexually abused at nursery schools.

1.) How many allegations did you receive of under 5 year olds being abused at children's nurseries in 2009 - 2010?

How many allegations did you receive of under 5 year olds being abused at children's nurseries in 2008 - 2009?

How many allegations did you receive of under 5 year olds being abused at children's nurseries in 2007 - 2008?

How many allegations did you receive of under 5 year olds being abused at children's nurseries in 2006 - 2007?

How do these figures breakdown between male and female?

2.) How many arrests have you made in connection to such abuse at nurseries over the past 4 years? If possible - please provide an annual breakdown in the figures.

3.) How many people have been charged in connection to abuse at nurseries over the past 4 years? If possible - please provide an annual breakdown in the figures.

In accordance with section 1(1) (a) of the Act our response is provided below;

I can confirm that the Cheshire Constabulary does hold some of the information you have requested. We have determined however that to retrieve this information from the three systems that may hold it would it, is estimated, exceed the appropriate limit. The appropriate limit is defined in the Data Protection and Freedom of Information (Fees and Appropriate Limit) Regulations 2004, which is covered by statutory Instrument Number 3244 of 2004. Furthermore, Section 12 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 allows a public authority to refuse to respond to a request for information where the cost of compliance would exceed the appropriate limit as defined by the above mentioned regulations.

The three systems mentioned are the Command and Control system, the crime reporting system and the Children and Vulnerable Adults data base (CAVA). These systems hold information relating to calls made, crimes recorded and the monitoring of actions. In the main the CAVA database holds information relating to individuals and is searchable on individual names. The crime reporting system is searchable on both names and crime categories however the crime categories that could come under your general heading of 'abuse' are numerous, for example assault, neglect, various sexual offences and others. To search and provide statistical information to answer your questions even for just one year would be a task that is far beyond the limits imposed by FOI.

Police forces in the United Kingdom are routinely required to provide crime statistics to government bodies and the recording criteria is set nationally. However, the systems used for recording these figures are not generic, nor are the procedures used locally in capturing the crime data. It should be noted that for these reasons this force's response to your questions should not be used for comparison purposes with any other response you may receive.