19/07/2025 FoIA request to West Midlands Police Reference: 1489A/25
Regarding the WMP&CC post 16/07/2025 ‘PCC calls for police to be allowed to crush seized e-bikes and e-scooters after just 7 days’ I ask to be provided:
For 2024 and 01/01/2025 to 30/06/2025 the storage costs referred to, for the seizure & potential disposal reasons identified:
- The policy in place for seizure & disposal (crush)
- A copy of the contract insofar as it pertains to storage
- The costs associated with storage; the rates associated and whether any period is free of charge
- The cost to WMP for the period; how much WMP have paid for storage
- Any rebate, by whatever name, received by WMP related to recover, storage or disposal of these vehicles
- The calculation undertaken which identifies the savings to be achieved from reducing storage from 14 days to 7 days
- Your exchanges with your WMP&CC on the subject
18/08/2025 WMP response:
We estimate that it will take an additional 20 working days to make a decision on where this balance lies. Therefore, we plan to let you have a response by 16/9/2025. If it appears that it will take longer than this to reach a conclusion, you will be kept informed.
West Midlands Police & their Police & Crime Commissioner, to whom separate requests were presented, appear to be working in concert on the response, see 18/08/2025 annotation.
The exemption cited was S43 Commercial Interests.
16/09/2025 WMP response:
- The policy in place for seizure & disposal (crush)
There is no specific policy in place regarding seizure and disposal of e-bikes and e-scooters. Almost every such vehicle is seized under S165a of the road Traffic Act. As such, if a vehicle (including these) cannot be registered with DVLA and insured, they are crushed. The NPCC endorse this approach around the country.
- A copy of the contract insofar as it pertains to storage
In accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000, this letter acts as a Refusal Notice for this question within the request, as the following exemption applies:
S43 Commercial Interests
S31 Law enforcement
These exemptions and explanatory notes are shown here:
Freedom of information | College of Policing
In line with the above, I am required to complete a Prejudice Test/Public Interest Test (PIT) on disclosure, in relation to Section 43 and Section 31. Please find this PIT below.
- The costs associated with storage; the rates associated and whether any period is free of charge
If a vehicle (including e bikes) is held for more than 56 days then storage of £3 a day will be incurred.
- The cost to WMP for the period; how much WMP have paid for storage
For E-bikes (PACE recoveries) and the storage charges for them in 2024 totalled £252 plus Vat and so far in 2025 £129 plus VAT
- Any rebate, by whatever name, received by WMP related to recover, storage or disposal of these vehicles**
There have been no rebates.
- The calculation undertaken which identifies the savings to be achieved from reducing storage from 14 days to 7 days
No information held – West Midlands Police have not made this calculation.
- Your exchanges with your WMP&CC on the subject
As above this question is to be answered by West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner’s Office.
Public interest test for S43 commercial interest and S31 law enforcement.
16/09/2025 Internal Review Request
No IR was received after 20 working days. The ICO was notified but referred to 40 working days but failed to advise what ‘exceptional circumstances‘ were associated with the IR. An authroity should:
- ensure the review takes no longer than 20 working days in most cases, or 40 in exceptional circumstances. ICO
Ultimately it took WMP about 80 working days to provide their IR:
13/01/2026 WMP issued their IR, a copy of which can be found here, with a local copy here. The attachment, the email exchanges, can be read here.
13/01/2026 resonse to WMP re lack of information