HAMPSHIRE police have refused to reveal the cost of the police operation at Boomtown as it would 'exceed the cost limit set for an FOI'.

The Chronicle submitted a Freedom of Information Request (FOI) to Hampshire Constabulary on Friday, August 25.

The request sought to find out the total cost of the police operation at Boomtown Fair and who bears the cost.

It said: “I request a breakdown cost of the police operation at Boomtown Fair, which was held from August 9-13 this year at Matterley Estate.

“This includes the cost of the police operation inside the festival and outside the festival - including traffic management.

“Also the admin costs for police at Boomtown Fair.

“I also request to know who bears the police cost of the operation at Boomtown Fair.

“In the past, it has been borne by the festival itself. Is that still the case?”

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In a response, sent on Monday, October 16, Hampshire Constabulary said: “Hampshire Constabulary does not hold this information in a retrievable format. 

“The cost of determining if the information is held, locating and retrieving the information exceeds the ‘appropriate level’ as stated in the Freedom of Information (Fees and Appropriate Limit) Regulations 2004. It is estimated that it would cost more than £450 to comply with your request. 

“This information is not held in an easily retrievable format. The nature of the way costs are recorded means that a manual review would be required to provide the amount spent on policing an individual festival. Many individuals (e.g. controllers, PCSOs, targeted patrol teams) within the force would have to be contacted to assess the amount of time, if any, each spent on the policing effort associated with the festival. 

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“This information, once collated, would need to be cross-referenced with the salary information for each individual on the date of each festival for a cost to be calculated. 

“There would also be other costs that would need to be collated - any expenses incurred via the finance system for mileage or other incidentals, subsistence claims, RPU involvement, FEC and call handling time, etc. This review would exceed the cost limit set for an FOI. 

“In accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000, if one element of a request exceeds the statutory cost limit, the whole request may be refused on grounds of cost. As such, this letter acts as a refusal notice in respect of your whole request.”

After the festival, police revealed that the crime rate had seen a seizable drop from previous years, with 69 offences. Last year there were 98, 121 in 2019, 127 in 2017 and 176 in 2016.