Balaclava Seizure & Crime Statistics

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Freedom of Information (FOI) Act request ref: 01/FIN/26/004992/Z

Version Date: 01/09/2026

The Performance Analysis Department has provided the following information:

Searches were completed within Niche using the specified keyword searches in the occurrence enquiry log (OEL) text.

Please note that the presence of a keyword only indicates its presence within the OEL, not it’s relevance to the crime.

For the period 1 June 2025 to 30 June 2026 inclusive, please provide the following information from all data force wide.

Please electronically search crime-report text fields for the terms:

“balaclava”
“bally”
“face covering”

Please provide:

- The number of unique crime reports containing one or more of these terms.

- A breakdown of these reports by the most commonly recorded offence type.

Main Crime Groups	Count
Violence Against the Person	2693
Public Order	622
Theft	360
Criminal Damage	327
Sexual Offences	297
Dwelling Burglary	156
Burglary Other	141
Theft of Motor Vehicle	92
Robbery	85
Other Offences	82
Drug Offences	65
Possession of Weapons	59
Theft From Motor Vehicle	45
Non Crime	23
Total	5047

- The age group of suspects linked to these reports, broken down as:
- under 18;
- 18–24;
- 25 and over;
- age unknown or not recorded.

Please note that a suspect is not always indentified or an individual can be the suspect for more than one offence.

Age Group	Count
Under 18	336
18–24	483
25 and over	2476
Age unknown or not recorded	15
Total	3310

- The number of these reports that resulted in:
- an arrest;
- a charge;
- no further action.

The following table shows the outcomes that apply to the occurrences. There were 1,779 arrests recorded that are linked to the occurrences in question 1, however, the ‘arrested’ filter applies to the individual, not the occurrence.

Outcome	Count
1: Charged	315
1: Summonsed/postal requisition	97
10: Police - formal action not in public interest	26
11: Named suspect below age of criminal responsibility	5
12: Named suspect identified but is dead or too ill (physical or mental health) to prosecute	11
13: Named suspect but victim/key witness deceased or too ill	3
14: Victim declines/unable to support action to identify offender	243
15: CPS - named suspect, victim supports but evidential difficulties	81
15: Police - named suspect, victim supports but evidential difficulties	897
16: Victim declines/withdraws support - named suspect identified	1229
17: Suspect identified but prosecution time limit expired	29
18: Investigation complete no suspect identified	1047
1A: Alternate offence charged	63
1A: Alternate offence summonsed/postal requisition	12
2: Youth caution	4
2: Youth conditional caution	5
20: Other body/agency has investigation primacy	59
21: Police - named suspect, investigation not in the public interest	76
22: Diversionary, educational or intervention activity, has been undertaken and there is no public interest to continue	19
3: Adult caution	1
3: Adult conditional caution	59
3A: Alternate offence adult caution	2
3A: Alternate offence adult conditional caution	12
4: TIC (taken into consideration)	3
5: Offender has died	2
8: Community resolution	111
8: Youth restorative disposal	12
9: CPS - prosecution not in public interest	7
New	617
Total	5047

- The number of occasions during the same period where a balaclava, “bally” or face covering was recorded as seized or recovered by officers, with a breakdown by associated offence type.

The following table shows all linked property where the 'property link classification' contained the phrase 'seiz' and the Property Common Name contained 'balaclava' and alternate spellings, or 'bally'.

Main Crime Group	Count
Burglary Other	5
Criminal Damage	1
Drug Offences	2
Dwelling Burglary	4
Possession of Weapons	7
Public Order	2
Robbery	5
Sexual Offences	1
Theft	5
Theft From Motor Vehicle	1
Theft of Motor Vehicle	3
Violence Against the Person	4
Total	40

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Balaclava Seizure & Crime Statistics