Arrests
The main facts and figures show that:
- a total of 779,660 arrests were made in 2016/17, a fall of 12% on the previous year
- Black people were over 3 times more likely to be arrested than White people – there were 38 arrests for every 1,000 Black people, and 12 arrests for every 1,000 White people
- Black women were more than twice as likely to be arrested as White women – there were 8 arrests for every 1,000 Black women, and 4 arrests for every 1,000 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 'unknown' and are not counted in the arrest rates by ethnicity. Over the period studied, the percentage of people arrested whose ethnicity wasn't known ranged from 2% to 7%.
Due to changes in data collection:
- Staffordshire police force were unable to provide complete data for 2006/07
- Suffolk police force were unable to provide complete data for 2006/07 and 2007/08
- Cambridgeshire police force were unable to provide detailed ethnicity data for 2015/16
- Humberside police force were unable to provide complete data for 2014/15
- police forces in Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Nottinghamshire, Suffolk were unable to provide complete data for 2015/16
- Lancashire police force were unable to provide arrests data in 2016/17
Therefore, some data has been estimated for these forces.
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
The data is broken down into the following 5 broad groups:
- Asian/Asian British
- Black/African/Caribbean/Black British
- Mixed/Multiple ethnic groups
- White
- Other ethnic group (including Chinese)
There’s a separate category for people whose ethnicity was unknown.
Arrests by ethnicity
Arrest rate per 1,000 people, and number of arrests, by ethnicity
Ethnicity | Arrest rate per 1,000 | Number of arrests |
---|---|---|
All | 14 | 779,660 |
Asian | 14 | 51,730 |
Black | 38 | 71,609 |
Mixed | 26 | 25,196 |
White | 12 | 567,233 |
Other inc Chinese | 10 | 12,103 |
Unknown | N/A* | 51,789 |
Summary
This data shows that:
- overall, there were 779,660 arrests in England and Wales in 2016/17, at a rate of 14 arrests per 1,000 people
- White people made up 78% of arrests in 2016/17 (where ethnicity was known), compared with 86% of the total population of England and Wales at the time of the 2011 Census
- Black people were over 3 times more likely to be arrested than White people – there were 38 arrests for every 1,000 Black people, and 12 arrests for every 1,000 White people
- people with Mixed ethnicity were over 2 times more likely to be arrested than White people – there were 26 arrests for every 1,000 people with Mixed ethnicity, and 12 arrests for every 1,000 White people
Arrests by ethnicity over time
Arrest rate per 1,000 people, and number of arrests, by ethnicity over time
All | Asian | Black | Mixed | White | Other inc Chinese | Unknown | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Time | Rate | Number of arrests | Rate | Number of arrests | Rate | Number of arrests | Rate | Number of arrests | Rate | Number of arrests | Rate | Number of arrests | Rate | Number of arrests |
2006/07 | 26 | 1,474,843 | 18 | 69,591 | 56 | 105,145 | 43 | 40,882 | 24 | 1,133,468 | 16 | 19,408 | N/A* | 106,349 |
2007/08 | 26 | 1,475,266 | 20 | 74,755 | 59 | 109,206 | 43 | 40,726 | 24 | 1,170,527 | 17 | 21,103 | N/A* | 58,949 |
2008/09 | 26 | 1,462,139 | 21 | 78,422 | 60 | 111,271 | 42 | 40,256 | 24 | 1,178,536 | 17 | 20,931 | N/A* | 32,723 |
2009/10 | 25 | 1,385,322 | 20 | 78,124 | 60 | 110,977 | 42 | 40,133 | 23 | 1,103,206 | 17 | 20,249 | N/A* | 32,633 |
2010/11 | 24 | 1,353,740 | 21 | 79,540 | 61 | 113,085 | 43 | 40,779 | 22 | 1,075,562 | 16 | 19,556 | N/A* | 25,218 |
2011/12 | 22 | 1,225,123 | 19 | 72,361 | 55 | 102,326 | 39 | 37,516 | 20 | 972,938 | 14 | 17,289 | N/A* | 22,693 |
2012/13 | 19 | 1,068,823 | 17 | 65,277 | 47 | 88,540 | 34 | 32,587 | 18 | 844,957 | 13 | 15,398 | N/A* | 22,064 |
2013/14 | 18 | 1,024,969 | 17 | 64,376 | 46 | 86,337 | 33 | 31,223 | 17 | 803,069 | 12 | 14,737 | N/A* | 25,227 |
2014/15 | 17 | 946,759 | 16 | 60,709 | 45 | 83,461 | 31 | 29,599 | 15 | 735,128 | 11 | 13,926 | N/A* | 23,936 |
2015/16 | 16 | 885,516 | 15 | 59,142 | 44 | 82,025 | 30 | 28,639 | 14 | 654,619 | 12 | 14,291 | N/A* | 46,800 |
2016/17 | 14 | 779,660 | 14 | 51,730 | 38 | 71,609 | 26 | 25,196 | 12 | 567,233 | 10 | 12,103 | N/A* | 51,789 |
Summary
This data shows that:
- overall, rates of arrest in England and Wales fell from 26 arrests per 1,000 people in 2006/07 to 14 arrests per 1,000 people in 2016/17
- arrest rates for people from the Asian, White, and Other (including Chinese) ethnic groups were lower than average in almost every year of the period studied, while the rates for people from the Black and Mixed ethnic groups were consistently higher than average
- between 2006/07 and 2016/17, the arrest rate for White people went down from 24 arrests per 1,000 to 12 arrests per 1,000 – a decrease of 50%
- in the same period, the arrest rate for people with Mixed ethnicity went down from 43 arrests per 1,000 to 26 arrests per 1,000 – a decrease of 38%
- the arrest rate for people from the Other ethnic group went down from 16 arrests per 1,000 people in 2006/07 to 10 per 1,000 in 2016/17 – a decrease of 38%
- the arrest rate for Black people went down from 56 arrests per 1,000 people in 2006/07 to 38 per 1,000 in 2016/17 – a decrease of 32%
- the arrest rate for Asian people went down from 18 arrests per 1,000 people in 2006/07 to 14 per 1,000 in 2016/17 – a decrease of 26%
- there were 105,856 fewer arrests in 2016/17 compared to the previous year, a fall of 12%
Arrests by ethnicity and area
Arrest rate per 1,000 people, and number of arrests, by ethnicity and police force area
All | Asian | Black | Mixed | White | Other inc Chinese | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Police Force Area | Rate | Number of arrests | Rate | Number of arrests | Rate | Number of arrests | Rate | Number of arrests | Rate | Number of arrests | Rate | Number of arrests |
All | 14 | 779,660 | 14 | 51,730 | 38 | 71,609 | 26 | 25,196 | 12 | 567,233 | 10 | 12,103 |
Avon & Somerset | 17 | 26,694 | 15 | 508 | 68 | 2,095 | 31 | 878 | 15 | 22,432 | 15 | 228 |
Bedfordshire | 13 | 8,296 | 14 | 1,131 | 35 | 1,040 | 22 | 414 | 12 | 5,541 | 13 | 117 |
Cambridgeshire | 14 | 11,022 | 16 | 636 | 60 | 612 | 22 | 354 | 12 | 8,916 | 13 | 161 |
Cheshire | 13 | 13,214 | 14 | 180 | 79 | 258 | 15 | 152 | 12 | 12,421 | 14 | 74 |
Cleveland | 22 | 12,016 | 17 | 297 | 65 | 204 | 19 | 109 | 22 | 11,332 | 15 | 66 |
Cumbria | 15 | 7,588 | 19 | 54 | 104 | 60 | 18 | 44 | 15 | 7,293 | 42 | 68 |
Derbyshire | 13 | 12,910 | 18 | 681 | 41 | 411 | 19 | 273 | 12 | 11,365 | 20 | 146 |
Devon & Cornwall | 7 | 11,881 | 17 | 193 | 62 | 255 | 9 | 133 | 6 | 10,353 | 11 | 101 |
Dorset | 12 | 8,598 | 13 | 135 | 128 | 411 | 16 | 153 | 10 | 7,338 | 10 | 59 |
Durham | 15 | 9,145 | 18 | 94 | 61 | 65 | 13 | 55 | 15 | 8,788 | 19 | 57 |
Dyfed-Powys | 9 | 4,483 | 11 | 49 | 61 | 52 | 8 | 26 | 9 | 4,322 | 3 | 7 |
Essex | 13 | 22,603 | 5 | 213 | 15 | 518 | 7 | 190 | 4 | 6,896 | 5 | 77 |
Gloucestershire | 9 | 5,094 | 14 | 152 | 63 | 327 | 15 | 128 | 7 | 4,268 | 24 | 71 |
Greater Manchester | 12 | 31,275 | 11 | 2,689 | 26 | 1,932 | 18 | 1,095 | 11 | 23,964 | 10 | 550 |
Gwent | 10 | 5,871 | 16 | 163 | 35 | 112 | 19 | 103 | 10 | 5,353 | 16 | 57 |
Hampshire | 8 | 15,675 | 6 | 338 | 39 | 674 | 11 | 344 | 8 | 13,612 | 7 | 155 |
Hertfordshire | 12 | 13,846 | 12 | 767 | 39 | 1,217 | 21 | 569 | 11 | 10,290 | 8 | 130 |
Humberside | 13 | 12,292 | 16 | 201 | 53 | 239 | 18 | 144 | 13 | 11,596 | 9 | 64 |
Kent | 15 | 26,076 | 14 | 758 | 59 | 1,356 | 18 | 492 | 13 | 21,441 | 33 | 514 |
Lancashire | 14 | 20,012 | 11 | 1,178 | 40 | 214 | 17 | 283 | 13 | 17,737 | 4 | 43 |
Leicestershire | 10 | 10,685 | 8 | 1,276 | 42 | 1,035 | 19 | 388 | 10 | 7,807 | 7 | 139 |
Lincolnshire | 13 | 9,595 | 19 | 105 | 60 | 153 | 20 | 126 | 13 | 8,874 | 35 | 99 |
London, City of | N/A* | 1,499 | N/A* | 201 | N/A* | 265 | N/A* | 85 | N/A* | 802 | N/A* | 33 |
Merseyside | 18 | 24,856 | 18 | 342 | 52 | 763 | 25 | 515 | 17 | 22,638 | 15 | 319 |
Metropolitan Police | 19 | 152,192 | 14 | 19,351 | 39 | 41,977 | 23 | 9,282 | 14 | 70,423 | 15 | 5,972 |
Norfolk | 14 | 11,676 | 5 | 49 | 26 | 121 | 7 | 71 | 5 | 3,784 | 12 | 64 |
North Wales | 18 | 12,704 | 16 | 103 | 77 | 116 | 15 | 72 | 16 | 11,025 | 16 | 70 |
North Yorkshire | 13 | 10,742 | 12 | 118 | 35 | 128 | 16 | 122 | 12 | 9,332 | 10 | 61 |
Northamptonshire | 13 | 8,712 | 13 | 304 | 45 | 757 | 22 | 314 | 11 | 7,014 | 18 | 99 |
Northumbria | 15 | 21,658 | 14 | 541 | 39 | 353 | 10 | 128 | 15 | 20,453 | 3 | 54 |
Nottinghamshire | 13 | 14,531 | 22 | 1,071 | 17 | 454 | 20 | 624 | 11 | 10,976 | 9 | 132 |
South Wales | 19 | 24,743 | 14 | 492 | 52 | 663 | 19 | 333 | 18 | 22,004 | 9 | 175 |
South Yorkshire | 10 | 13,772 | 11 | 628 | 27 | 701 | 10 | 200 | 10 | 11,992 | 7 | 176 |
Staffordshire | 13 | 14,611 | 21 | 730 | 60 | 511 | 28 | 396 | 12 | 12,725 | 21 | 157 |
Suffolk | 9 | 6,916 | 5 | 50 | 20 | 137 | 6 | 80 | 4 | 2,537 | 8 | 38 |
Surrey | 7 | 8,264 | 10 | 518 | 40 | 491 | 11 | 262 | 7 | 6,671 | 5 | 94 |
Sussex | 11 | 17,506 | 13 | 525 | 75 | 1,071 | 16 | 480 | 9 | 13,388 | 12 | 193 |
Thames Valley | 15 | 34,614 | 18 | 3,537 | 44 | 3,054 | 33 | 1,833 | 12 | 23,622 | 11 | 360 |
Warwickshire | 11 | 5,730 | 14 | 311 | 62 | 277 | 23 | 186 | 10 | 4,854 | 7 | 34 |
West Mercia | 11 | 13,649 | 22 | 476 | 77 | 388 | 20 | 275 | 11 | 12,376 | 14 | 82 |
West Midlands | 13 | 36,257 | 11 | 5,294 | 26 | 4,276 | 20 | 1,959 | 12 | 23,303 | 10 | 646 |
West Yorkshire | 17 | 37,760 | 18 | 5,068 | 32 | 1,506 | 27 | 1,318 | 15 | 28,062 | 10 | 318 |
Wiltshire | 12 | 8,397 | 13 | 223 | 59 | 360 | 21 | 208 | 11 | 7,313 | 11 | 43 |
Summary
This data shows that:
- in Durham, Cumbria, Dyfed-Powys, and North Wales, 3% of people arrested were from the Asian, Black, Mixed and Other ethnic groups combined (the lowest percentage out of all police force areas)
- in London, 52% of people arrested were from the Asian, Black, Mixed and Other ethnic groups combined (the highest percentage out of all police force areas)
- 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 the Asian, Black, Mixed and Other ethnic groups living in London than in North Wales, for example)
Arrests by ethnicity and gender
Arrest rate per 1,000 people, and number of arrests, by ethnicity and gender
Female | Male | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Ethnicity | Arrest rate per 1,000 | Number of arrests | Arrest rate per 1,000 | Number of arrests |
All | 4 | 119,937 | 24 | 659,723 |
Asian | 2 | 4,077 | 25 | 47,653 |
Black | 8 | 8,188 | 71 | 63,421 |
Mixed | 7 | 4,103 | 34 | 21,093 |
White | 4 | 93,480 | 20 | 473,753 |
Other inc Chinese | 4 | 1,801 | 21 | 10,302 |
Unknown | N/A* | 8,288 | N/A* | 43,501 |
Summary
This data shows that:
- in 2016/17, 16% 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
- women made up 12% of total number of people arrested from the Asian, Black, Mixed and Other ethnic groups, compared with 17% of those arrested from the White ethnic group
-
Black men were three and a half times more likely to be arrested than White men – there were 71 arrests for every 1,000 Black men, and 20 arrests for every 1,000 White men
-
Black women were over twice as likely to be arrested as White women – there were 8 arrests for every 1,000 Black women, and 4 arrests for every 1,000 White women
Methodology
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.
Rounding
Rates of arrest per 1,000 people are rounded to the nearest whole number.
Further technical information
Police forces' recording of arrests, and use of the data, are monitored by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS).
HMICFRS 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.
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
YearlyPurpose of data source
It is mandatory for police forces in England and Wales to provide the Home Office with the number of arrests carried out each financial year by ethnicity.
Arrest records form part of custody records, which in turn are used for a number of administrative purposes, including monitoring performance.
Download the data
This file contains the following: ethnicity, year, police force area, number of arrests, population and rate and proportions of arrests