'Piggybacking' Offences 2018-23
Request
Could you please share information on the number of 'piggybacking' (establishing a wireless Internet connection by using another subscriber's wireless Internet access) offences recorded in the last five years (2018-23), broken down by the number of convictions each year?
Response
We approached our Crime Management Data Returns Administrator for assistance with your request. The Connect System is used to record complaints or allegations of those matters, which the Home Office specify should be recorded as ‘crime’.
They provided us with the below information and following explanation of their search criteria:
Please note – ‘piggybacking’ is not a specific offence. Therefore, they have conducted a free text search of “WIFI” or “internet connection” within the initial MO across all crime 2018-2023.
I was provided with 89 results, which I was required to manually review. Of those 89 results I identified 3, which I believe indicate theft of WIFI connection (using someone else’s WIFI without permission).
Criteria Used - Incident Created Date is between 01/01/2018 and 31/12/2023, SYP & crime only filter, Initial MO is LIKE (pattern match) %wifi%, %internet connection%
2018 – 1
2019 – 1
2021 – 1
Prosecution / Conviction data (outcomes at court) is not recorded by South Yorkshire Police, this information may be available from the Ministry of Justice.
You may want to approach the CPS directly regarding this enquiry:
https://www.cps.gov.uk/freedom-information
Please note, every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that data has been extracted from data sources used by this force for police purposes. The detail collected to respond specifically to your request is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording systems and information assets.
The figures provided therefore are our best interpretation of relevance of data to your request, but you should be aware that the collation of figures/data for any requests may have limitations, and this should be taken into account when those data are used.
Police forces do not use generic systems or identical procedures for capturing the data. For these reasons this response to your questions should not be used for comparison purposes with responses you may receive from other police forces.