Number of arrests

Published 10 October 2017

Last updated 20 August 2018 - see all updates

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Contents

1. Main facts and figures

• a total of 896,209 arrests were made in 2015/2016, a fall of 5% on the previous year

• Black people were over 3 times more likely to be arrested than White people

• Black women were more than twice as likely to be arrested as White women

Things you need to know

Someone arrested in a particular area will not necessarily live in that area. Population estimates are based on permanent residents of that area (not visitors) – so figures that compare the total population with the number of arrests should be treated with caution.

Where someone's ethnicity wasn't identified or known, they have been classed as 'unreported' and are not counted in the arrest rates by ethnicity.

Over the period studied the percentage of people arrested whose ethnicity wasn't known ranges from 2% to 7%.

Due to changes in data collection:

• Cambridgeshire police force were unable to provide detailed ethnicity data for 2015/16
• Humberside police force were unable to provide detailed ethnicity data for 2014/15
• police forces in Norfolk, Nottinghamshire, Suffolk and Wiltshire were unable to provide complete data for 2015/16

Therefore, arrests broken down by the 5 broad ethnic categories for these forces are estimates, and data for the specific ethnic categories is not available.

Due to the small number of people living in the City of London compared with the numbers who visit, its police force has been excluded from the analysis.

What the data measures

This data measures the number of arrests for 'notifiable offences', broken down by ethnicity, gender and area.

A notifiable offence is one for which the police must complete a crime report.

The arrest rate is calculated as the number of people arrested from a particular ethnic group out of every 1,000 people from the same group.

Data is derived from the 43 police forces in England and Wales.

Population data is taken from the 2011 Census.

The ethnic categories used in this data

While the population estimates in this data are based on the results of the 2011 Census, the ethnic categories used are those listed in the 2001 Census. This is because these ethnic categories are easier to compare with the categories used when recording arrests.

The 16 categories listed in the 2001 Census are broadly the same as those used in the 2011 Census, with the following exceptions:

• the 2001 Census categorised Chinese people within 'Other ethnic group'
• the 2001 Census did not list Gypsy and Irish Travellers or Arab people

The categories are therefore as follows:

White:

• English/ Welsh/ Scottish/ Northern Irish/ British
• Irish
• Any other White background

Mixed/Multiple ethnic groups:

• White and Black Caribbean
• White and Black African
• White and Asian
• Any other Mixed/Multiple ethnic background

Asian/Asian British:

• Indian
• Pakistani
• Bangladeshi
• Any other Asian background

Black/ African/ Caribbean/ Black British:

• African
• Caribbean
• Any other Black/ African/ Caribbean background

Other ethnic group:

• Chinese
• Any other ethnic group

2. Number of arrests by ethnicity

• Location: England and Wales
• Time period: 2014/15 to 2015/16
• Source: Police powers and procedures England and Wales statistics

Arrests per 1,000 population by ethnicity

	2014/15		2015/16
Ethnicity	2014/15 Rate	2014/15 Arrests	2015/16 Rate	2015/16 Arrests
All	16.88	946,759	15.98	896,209
Asian	15.89	60,709	15.62	59,665
Black	44.75	83,461	44.39	82,789
Mixed	24.17	29,599	23.80	29,146
White	15.25	735,128	13.75	663,059
Other	14.55	13,926	15.09	14,443
Unknown	N/A*	23,936	N/A*	47,107

^* Not applicable

Download table data (CSV) Source data (CSV)

Summary of Number of arrests Number of arrests by ethnicity Summary

This data shows that:

• there were 50,550 fewer arrests in 2015/16 compared to the previous year, a fall of 5%

• rates of arrest fell for all groups except for those in the Other ethnic group

• rates of arrest for White people fell from 15.25 per 1,000 in 2014/15 to 13.75 per 1,000 in 2015/16

• in 2015/16, of people arrested for whom ethnicity was known, 78% were White, 10% were Black, and 7% were Asian

3. Number of arrests by ethnicity and area

• Location: England and Wales
• Time period: 2015/2016
• Source: Police powers and procedures England and Wales statistics

Number of arrests, and arrest rate per 1,000 population, by ethnicity and police force area

	All		Asian		Black		Mixed		White		Other
Police force area	All Rate	All Arrests	Asian Rate	Asian Arrests	Black Rate	Black Arrests	Mixed Rate	Mixed Arrests	White Rate	White Arrests	Other Rate	Other Arrests
All	15.98	896,209	15.62	59,665	44.39	82,789	23.80	29,146	13.75	663,059	15.09	14,443
Avon & Somerset	15.58	24,918	16.57	547	56.17	1,737	30.59	865	14.25	21,261	9.88	152
Bedfordshire	15.91	9,783	17.66	1,439	36.13	1,074	26.77	494	13.77	6,565	14.97	131
Cambridgeshire	13.49	10,854	20.39	806	83.74	852			11.87	8,622	38.58	485
Cheshire	13.64	14,021	15.09	193	69.24	226	11.99	125	13.31	13,258	15.87	83
Cleveland	25.69	14,316	22.04	384	70.03	221	15.62	90	25.61	13,484	28.42	126
Cumbria	13.82	6,907	20.25	59	79.45	46	11.18	28	13.62	6,704	16.82	27
Derbyshire	15.05	15,323	17.68	652	28.74	290	13.10	188	14.67	13,936	32.69	238
Devon & Cornwall	9.27	15,459	14.79	173	75.74	311	13.61	213	8.95	14,559	11.30	107
Dorset	14.87	11,067	15.80	169	127.81	410	19.04	181	13.55	9,685	18.85	113
Durham	18.17	11,245	32.66	167	46.31	49	19.10	81	17.87	10,818	26.40	80
Dyfed-Powys	10.80	5,561	10.76	46	70.09	60	9.20	30	10.64	5,370	7.47	15
Essex	14.11	24,342	7.60	296	18.66	647	8.47	234	4.92	7,912	5.98	92
Gloucestershire	8.94	5,339	12.74	134	56.89	293	15.47	134	7.95	4,527	29.29	88
Greater Manchester	14.57	39,075	13.97	3,437	31.11	2,305	21.48	1,304	13.46	30,260	10.67	571
Gwent	14.24	8,214	19.95	201	45.53	145	22.53	125	13.61	7,547	21.01	75
Hampshire	12.24	23,227	9.56	548	63.51	1,108	17.89	553	11.18	19,796	9.23	193
Hertfordshire	17.58	19,622	15.46	991	49.49	1,554	31.20	858	15.16	14,821	14.53	226
Humberside	11.44	10,502	10.91	133	31.56	142	14.17	116	11.34	10,041	4.80	36
Kent	13.14	22,695	12.83	695	63.38	1,450	17.63	481	11.18	17,975	41.00	641
Lancashire	15.54	22,699	11.48	1,249	42.03	226	18.40	300	15.43	20,374	4.23	44
Leicestershire	9.68	9,853	7.61	1,185	34.89	859	14.72	302	9.09	7,254	4.45	85
Lincolnshire	12.85	9,173	17.03	95	48.03	123	12.12	75	11.99	8,350	27.83	79
London, City of	N/A*	1,775	N/A*	224	N/A*	327	N/A*	94	N/A*	931	N/A*	41
Merseyside	20.52	28,339	17.56	331	52.84	769	24.00	503	19.89	25,966	15.61	336
Metropolitan Police	23.29	190,195	18.13	25,141	45.89	49,948	28.58	11,575	18.54	90,494	17.64	7,143
Norfolk	16.64	14,272	11.93	117	72.90	336	18.65	187	11.37	9,415	10.51	57
North Wales	21.87	15,045	11.68	74	91.52	137	9.09	45	21.79	14,616	14.16	63
North Yorkshire	14.66	11,677	11.30	112	26.81	97	11.13	83	12.55	9,652	8.66	54
Northamptonshire	14.46	10,004	12.84	290	46.50	787	21.86	310	13.43	8,496	10.10	55
Northumbria	19.20	27,276	17.95	678	46.52	419	14.38	179	19.13	25,700	4.36	78
Nottinghamshire	21.92	23,927	23.50	1,134	59.70	1,629	37.41	1,159	20.08	19,471	16.29	252
South Wales	20.80	26,701	14.94	535	55.35	705	23.81	423	19.67	23,575	11.17	211
South Yorkshire	12.19	16,372	14.36	785	32.62	840	11.50	239	11.65	14,187	9.54	236
Staffordshire	13.75	15,090	24.27	853	50.99	436	27.95	394	12.77	13,187	18.44	136
Suffolk	13.52	9,845	10.21	112	53.40	366	19.32	241	9.29	6,441	10.92	51
Surrey	9.92	11,233	11.79	637	53.10	660	14.94	352	8.90	9,111	8.08	151
Sussex	12.93	20,785	12.21	499	82.34	1,173	19.94	599	11.05	16,641	14.80	242
Thames Valley	16.66	37,809	18.28	3,519	45.50	3,140	34.47	1,930	13.88	26,642	12.06	393
Warwickshire	9.80	5,345	10.51	239	52.44	233	20.63	164	9.06	4,583	14.42	67
West Mercia	10.58	12,935	21.97	477	81.39	412	19.46	262	9.91	11,664	12.37	70
West Midlands	13.58	37,170	10.32	5,094	26.40	4,332	22.27	2,142	12.54	24,075	11.37	722
West Yorkshire	17.62	39,223	17.90	5,026	33.20	1,543	26.56	1,278	15.99	29,103	11.63	359
Wiltshire	10.29	6,996	10.88	189	61.09	372	21.44	210	9.32	5,990	9.74	39

^* Not applicable Data not collected

Download table data (CSV) Source data (CSV)

Summary of Number of arrests Number of arrests by ethnicity and area Summary

This data shows that:

• in North Wales, 2% of people arrested were from the Asian, Black, Mixed and Other ethnic groups combined (the lowest rate)

• in London, 51% of people arrested were from the Asian, Black, Mixed and Other ethnic groups combined (the highest rate)

• differences in the rate of arrests in England and Wales are likely, in part, to reflect population differences in those areas (with many more people from an ethnic minority living in London than in North Wales, for example)

4. Number of arrests by ethnicity and gender

• Location: England and Wales
• Time period: 2015/16
• Source: Police powers and procedures England and Wales statistics

Number of arrests, and arrest rate per 1,000 population, by ethnicity and gender

	All		Female		Male
Ethnicity	All Rate	All Arrests	Female Rate	Female Arrests	Male Rate	Male Arrests
All	15.98	896,209	4.91	139,915	27.43	756,294
Asian	15.62	59,665	2.55	4,810	28.36	54,855
Black	44.39	82,789	10.37	10,028	81.01	72,761
Mixed	23.80	29,146	7.66	4,695	39.98	24,451
White	13.75	663,059	4.51	110,841	23.37	552,218
Other	15.09	14,443	4.30	1,970	25.02	12,473
Unknown	N/A*	47,107	N/A*	7,571	N/A*	39,536

^* Not applicable

Download table data (CSV) Source data (CSV)

Summary of Number of arrests Number of arrests by ethnicity and gender Summary

This data shows that:

• in 2015/16, 15% of all women arrested in England and Wales were from the Asian, Black, Mixed and Other ethnic groups combined, compared with 23% of all men arrested

• of the total number of people from the Asian, Black, Mixed and Other ethnic groups arrested in 2015/16, 12% were women

• of the total number of White people arrested in 2015/16, 17% were women

• Black men were almost three and a half times more likely to be arrested than White men, and Black women were over twice as likely to be arrested as White women

5. Methodology

A person arrested for a notifiable offence is counted for each occasion on which they are arrested, provided that the offence is not connected or related to an offence for which the person has already been subject to arrest during the year.

If it is connected, or if a person has been arrested for more than one notifiable offences on the same occasion, the offence with the highest maximum penalty is recorded.

Arresting officers are required to record details of an arrest at the time of arrest, or as soon as possible after. A universal code of practice (PACE code G) ensures arrests are standardised across forces, both in terms of the processes involved, and the data recorded.

The person arrested states their ethnicity at the time of arrest.

Police forces have their own internal auditing methods to ensure that data is accurate and up to date before it's submitted to the Home Office.

Further technical information

Police forces' recording of arrests, and use of the data, are monitored by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC). HMIC carries out regular inspections and produce reports on the inspections.

Home Office statisticians undertake quality assurance checks which include looking for missing and incomplete data, inconsistencies in the data, and extreme values.

Trend analyses also look for unusual or unexpected trends in the data. Any inconsistencies or unusual trends are flagged with forces, who are requested to either explain the trends, or resubmit to amend the data.

All data is then confirmed by forces during a data reconciliation before the figures are published.

6. Data sources

Source

Police powers and procedures England and Wales statistics

Type of data

Administrative data

Type of statistic

National Statistics

Publisher

Home Office

Publication frequency

Yearly

Purpose of data source

Figures on stop and search reported to the Home Office are used to create greater transparency in the use of stop and search in England and Wales. They enhance accountability by enabling the public to monitor police forces at a national and local level.

The data is used to form a national picture of the trends in stop and search. It informs discussions about crime, policing and criminal justice in government and academia, and ensures the public are accurately informed.

7. Download the data

number_of_arrests - Spreadsheet (csv) 1 MB

This file contains the following: ethnicity, year, police force area, arrests, population and rate

Publication release date: 10 October 2017

Updated: 20 August 2018

full page history

1. 20 August 2018 Added header row ('Police force area') in the 2nd table
2. 27 February 2018 Minor updates for style and accuracy
3. 11 October 2017 Technical change: Updated url to match page title.
4. 10 October 2017 First published

From: Home Office

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