Criminal Offences & Arrests at the Castletown Festival

Summary

A request was made for arrest statistics and court outcomes related to the Castletown Festival between 2014 and 2017, but the request was withdrawn by the applicant on July 26, 2018, before the Constabulary could provide the specific data.

Key Facts

• The request was submitted on July 6, 2018, and withdrawn on July 26, 2018.
• The applicant sought arrest numbers broken down by offence for the Castletown Festival from 2014 to 2017.
• The applicant also requested conviction, acquittal, caution, and no further action statistics for years 2013 to 2017.
• The response letter from the Constabulary was issued on July 19, 2018, but the case outcome is recorded as withdrawn.
• The request was prompted by a 2017 press release mentioning assaults, drunkenness, and criminal damage at the festival.

Data Disclosed

• 2018-07-06
• 2018-07-26
• 2018-07-19
• 2014-2017
• 2013-2017
• 5th August 2017
• 6th August 2016
• 1st August 2015
• 2nd August 2014
• 3 pages
• 1 document

Original Request

'Following media coverage in relation to the 2017 Castletown Festival a press release was issued by the Constabulary viz: https://www.gov.im/news/2017/aug/07/isle-of-man-constabulary-response-castletown-festival/ This release states (in part): 'In recent years, problems experienced during the evening part of Castletown Festival have led to the police making arrests for offences of assault, drunkenness, criminal damage, and for breaches of the Public Order Act. Some of the offences have been serious, including on one occasion an on-duty Constable suffering grievous bodily harm as a result of an attack'. Such repeated incidents of unacceptable and anti-social behaviour are of concern to many and I am seeking information on arrests at the Castletown Festival itself or in connection with events occurring at the Festival. Accordingly, 1. For each of the last four years (2014-17) how many arrests were made a) at the Castletown Festival itself and b) subsequently in connection with events occurring at the Festival? The arrests to be broken down by offence. 2. Of those individuals arrested how many were a) convicted following court appearance, b) acquitted, c) cautioned and d) had no further action taken against them in each of the years 2013-17 inclusive?' For the avoidance of doubt to enable you to complete the answers to the information sought in the last two paragraphs of my request please see below. By Festival I mean the 'Castletown Festival' as referred to by the Constabulary in their press release cited, for clarity, in the original request. This is the event which is traditionally held in Market Square, Castletown, and has been running for in excess of 60 years. Certainly, in recent memory it has been held on the first Saturday in August of each year viz; 5th August 2017; 6th August 2016; 1st August 2015; 2nd August 2014 For the sake of this request the period of the 'Festival itself' can be taken to mean from noon until midnight on the day of the event. 'Subsequently in connection with events occurring at the Festival itself,' can be taken to mean such arrests for offences that occurred at the Festival (defined above as noon-midnight on the day of the event). Obviously, such arrests may occur in the days/weeks following the event because of subsequent witness statements, review of CCTV footage etc.

Data Tables (1)

Full Response Text

Isle of Man Constabulary Freedom of Information Department of Home Affairs Headquarters Tromode Road, Douglas Isle of Man, IM2 5PA Tel: +44(0)1624631394 Email: Mark.Britton@gov.im Our ref: 519533 19 July 2018

Dear ###

We write further to your request which was received on 6 July 2018 and which states:

"'Following media coverage in relation to the 2017 Castletown Festival a press release was issued by the Constabulary viz: https://www.gov.im/news/2017/aug/07/isle-of-man-constabulary-response- castletown-festival/ This release states (in part): 'In recent years, problems experienced during the evening part of Castletown Festival have led to the police making arrests for offences of assault, drunkenness, criminal damage, and for breaches of the Public Order Act. Some of the offences have been serious, including on one occasion an on-duty Constable suffering grievous bodily harm as a result of an attack'. Such repeated incidents of unacceptable and anti-social behaviour are of concern to many and I am seeking information on arrests at the Castletown Festival itself or in connection with events occurring at the Festival. Accordingly, 1. For each of the last four years (2014-17) how many arrests were made a) at the Castletown Festival itself and b) subsequently in connection with events occurring at the Festival? The arrests to be broken down by offence. 2. Of those individuals arrested how many were a) convicted following court appearance, b) acquitted, c) cautioned and d) had no further action taken against them in each of the years 2013-17 inclusive?'

For the avoidance of doubt to enable you to complete the answers to the information sought in the last two paragraphs of my request please see below. By Festival I mean the 'Castletown Festival' as referred to by the Constabulary in their press release cited, for clarity, in the original request. This is the event which is traditionally held in Market Square, Castletown, and has been running for in excess of 60 years. Certainly, in recent memory it has been held on the first Saturday in August of each year viz; 5th August 2017; 6th August 2016; 1st August 2015; 2nd August 2014 For the sake of this request the period of the 'Festival itself' can be taken to mean from noon until midnight on the day of the event. 'Subsequently in connection with events occurring at the Festival itself,' can be taken to mean such arrests for offences that occurred at the Festival (defined above as noon-midnight on the day of the event). Obviously, such arrests may occur in the days/weeks following the event because of subsequent witness statements, review of CCTV footage etc."

Our response to your request is as follows: I have detailed below the information that is being released to you. The role of the Constabulary at community events is to Keep People Safe and ensure that the peace is upheld, prevent and detect crime and to apprehend offenders. There are many ways in which the Constabulary achieves all of this and resorting to arrest is just one of the ways in which this is achieved. The Constabulary sets priorities for all such events and these are developed on a case by case basis, dependent on a number of factors. This can include but is not restricted to the event’s history, the type of event, attendees, location and other similar factors which influence the policing response.
The Constabulary will continue to support local events and would like to work in partnership with event organisers, members of the community and other individuals. Please quote the reference number 519533 in any future communications.

Your right to request a review

If you are unhappy with this response to your freedom of information request, you may ask us to carry out an internal review of the response, by completing a complaint form and submitting it electronically or by delivery/post.

An electronic version of our complaint form can be found by going to our website at https://services.gov.im/freedom-of-information/Review . If you would like a paper version of our complaint form to be sent to you by post, please contact me and I will be happy to arrange for this. Your review request should explain why you are dissatisfied with this response, and should be made as soon as practicable. We will respond as soon as the review has been concluded.

If you are not satisfied with the result of the review, you then have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner for a decision on; 1. Whether we have responded to your request for information in accordance with Part 2 of the Freedom of Information Act 2015; or 2. Whether we are justified in refusing to give you the information requested.
In response to an application for review, the Information Commissioner may, at any time, attempt to resolve a matter by negotiation, conciliation, mediation or another form of alternative dispute resolution and will have regard to any outcome of this in making any subsequent decision. More detailed information on your right to a review can be found on the Information Commissioner’s website at www.inforights.im. Should you have any queries concerning this letter, please do not hesitate to contact me. Further information about freedom of information requests can be found at www.gov.im/foi.

I will now close your request as of this date.

Yours sincerely