Arrests
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- 1. Navigate toMain facts and figures section
- 2. Navigate toThings you need to know section
- 3. Navigate to By ethnicity section
- 4. Navigate to By ethnicity over time section
- 5. Navigate to By ethnicity and area section
- 6. Navigate to By ethnicity and sex section
- 7. Navigate toData sources section
- 8. Navigate toDownload the data section
1. Main facts and figures
- there were 663,036 arrests between April 2021 and March 2022 – up by almost 18,000 compared to the previous year
- black people were 2.4 times as likely to be arrested as white people – there were 21.2 arrests for every 1,000 black people, and 9.0 arrests for every 1,000 white people
- overall, men were 6 times as likely to be arrested as women – there were 19.2 arrests for every 1,000 men, and 3.2 arrests for every 1,000 women
- black men were over 2.5 times as likely to be arrested as white men – there were 39.9 arrests for every 1,000 black men, and 15.4 arrests for every 1,000 white men
2. Things you need to know
What the data measures
This data measures the number of arrests for 'notifiable offences' – offences for which the police must complete a crime report.
Rates of arrest per 1,000 people are rounded to 1 decimal place.
Unrounded data was used to work out arrest rates and differences between ethnic groups
Not included in the data
The City of London police force area has been excluded due to the small number of people living in the area compared with those who visit.
How arrest rates are calculated
The arrest rate is the number of people arrested from a particular ethnic group out of every 1,000 people from the same group.
The ethnic groups used in the data
Data from April 2020 to March 2022 uses the 19 ethnic groups from the 2021 Census.
A person gives their ethnicity at the time of arrest. Where ethnicity is not given, it is shown as ‘unknown’ in the tables. Ethnicity was not given for 15.3% of arrests that took place between April 2021 and March 2022.
In the 15 years to March 2022, the percentage of people arrested whose ethnicity was not known has varied. It was lowest (2%) in the years between 2008 and 2014, and highest (15%) between 2019 and 2022.
Methodology
Read the detailed methodology document for the data on this page.
Data over time is shown from April 2020 to March 2022, using population figures from the 2021 Census to calculate arrest rates. This data is not comparable with previous years’ data, which is calculated using population rates from previous censuses.
A person arrested in a particular area may not necessarily live in that area. Population estimates for police force areas are based on permanent residents of that area as reported in the 2021 Census. Read more about problems using Census data to work out rates.
We use ‘relative likelihoods’ in the data to make comparisons, for example ‘black people were over 3 times as likely to be arrested as white people’. You can read more about using relative likelihoods to compare ethnic disparities.
A person arrested for a notifiable offence is counted each time they are arrested. This is as long as the offence is not related to one that happened earlier in the same financial year (April to March). If it is connected, or if a person has been arrested for more than one notifiable offence on the same occasion, the offence with the highest maximum penalty is recorded.
Someone who is arrested is usually asked for their ethnicity. The circumstances of an arrest may affect the accuracy of this information.
In the data file
See download the data for:
- the number of arrests by area and ethnicity
- data from 2006 to 2019 which uses Census 2011 population figures to calculate rates
3. By ethnicity
| Ethnicity | Rate per 1,000 | Number of arrests |
|---|---|---|
| All | 11.1 | 663,036 |
| Asian | 7.6 | 42,028 |
| Bangladeshi | 8.8 | 5,706 |
| Chinese | 2.4 | 1,074 |
| Indian | 4.2 | 7,817 |
| Pakistani | 9.3 | 14,822 |
| Any Other Asian Background | 13.0 | 12,609 |
| Black | 21.2 | 51,018 |
| Black African | 13.4 | 19,882 |
| Black Caribbean | 24.4 | 15,197 |
| Any Other Black Background | 53.5 | 15,939 |
| Mixed | 11.7 | 20,030 |
| Mixed White and Asian | 4.5 | 2,189 |
| Mixed White and Black African | 9.9 | 2,463 |
| Mixed White and Black Caribbean | 17.5 | 8,981 |
| Any Other Mixed/Multiple Ethnic Background | 13.7 | 6,397 |
| White | 9.0 | 438,527 |
| White British | 8.8 | 388,646 |
| Gypsy or Irish Traveller | 14.7 | 994 |
| White Irish | 10.5 | 5,334 |
| Roma | N/A* | N/A* |
| Any Other White Background | 11.9 | 43,553 |
| Other | 7.8 | 9,801 |
| Arab | 2.8 | 917 |
| Any Other Ethnic Background | 9.6 | 8,884 |
| Unknown | N/A* | 101,632 |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity’ (CSV)
Summary of Arrests By ethnicity Summary
The data shows that, in the year to March 2022:
- there were 663,036 arrests in England and Wales – a rate of 11.1 arrests per 1,000 people
- the arrest rate for black people was 2.4 times higher than for white people – there were 21.2 arrests for every 1,000 black people, and 9.0 arrests for every 1,000 white people
- the arrest rate for people with mixed ethnicity was 1.3 times higher than for white people – there were 11.7 arrests for every 1,000 people with mixed ethnicity
- people from Asian (7.6 arrests for every 1,000 people) and ‘other’ (7.8 arrests) ethnic backgrounds were arrested at lower rates than white people
4. By ethnicity over time
| 2020/21 | 2021/22 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ethnicity | 2020/21 Rate per 1,000 | 2020/21 Number of arrests | 2021/22 Rate per 1,000 | 2021/22 Number of arrests |
| All | 10.8 | 645,225 | 11.1 | 663,036 |
| Asian | 8.0 | 44,221 | 7.6 | 42,028 |
| Black | 22.5 | 54,106 | 21.2 | 51,018 |
| Mixed | 11.9 | 20,372 | 11.7 | 20,030 |
| White | 8.7 | 421,277 | 9.0 | 438,527 |
| Other | 7.9 | 9,931 | 7.8 | 9,801 |
| Unknown | N/A* | 95,318 | N/A* | 101,632 |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity over time’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity over time’ (CSV)
Summary of Arrests By ethnicity over time Summary
The data shows that, in the 2 years to March 2022:
- the overall arrest rate in England and Wales stayed the same at around 11 arrests for every 1,000 people, and the number of arrests went up by around 18,000
- the arrest rate for black people went down from 22.5 to 21.2 arrests for every 1,000 people
- the arrest rates for white people (around 9 arrests for every 1,000 people) and the Asian and ‘other’ (both around 8 arrests for every 1,000 people) ethnic groups stayed the same
5. By ethnicity and area
| All | Asian | Black | Mixed | White | Other | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Geography | All Rate per 1,000 | All Number of arrests | Asian Rate per 1,000 | Asian Number of arrests | Black Rate per 1,000 | Black Number of arrests | Mixed Rate per 1,000 | Mixed Number of arrests | White Rate per 1,000 | White Number of arrests | Other Rate per 1,000 | Other Number of arrests |
| All - England and Wales | 11.1 | 663,036 | 7.6 | 42,028 | 21.2 | 51,018 | 11.7 | 20,030 | 9.0 | 438,527 | 7.8 | 9,801 |
| Avon and Somerset | 8.7 | 15,194 | 4.8 | 289 | 23.3 | 881 | 14.4 | 642 | 7.4 | 11,742 | 15.3 | 260 |
| Bedfordshire | 9.3 | 6,548 | 7.1 | 828 | 13.9 | 550 | 8.6 | 232 | 5.6 | 2,855 | 9.2 | 125 |
| Cambridgeshire | 7.5 | 6,666 | 3.0 | 209 | 10.0 | 185 | 4.0 | 108 | 3.6 | 2,740 | 2.2 | 32 |
| Cheshire | 10.6 | 11,655 | 6.4 | 162 | 25.7 | 170 | 9.8 | 172 | 10.4 | 10,839 | 22.3 | 177 |
| Cleveland | 21.3 | 12,148 | 13.8 | 370 | 33.0 | 222 | 25.8 | 196 | 21.4 | 11,183 | 18.3 | 114 |
| Cumbria | 14.1 | 7,044 | 12.0 | 59 | 50.2 | 60 | 14.5 | 58 | 13.8 | 6,712 | 32.1 | 55 |
| Derbyshire | 10.2 | 10,819 | 13.4 | 705 | 32.9 | 479 | 18.9 | 385 | 9.2 | 8,823 | 13.6 | 140 |
| Devon and Cornwall | 8.0 | 14,321 | 7.0 | 168 | 29.7 | 201 | 5.0 | 123 | 6.6 | 11,340 | 6.5 | 86 |
| Dorset | 6.7 | 5,250 | 6.8 | 121 | 48.9 | 260 | 10.6 | 164 | 6.0 | 4,380 | 8.1 | 58 |
| Durham | 13.4 | 8,411 | 11.2 | 121 | 27.4 | 67 | 12.3 | 79 | 13.2 | 7,993 | 16.3 | 49 |
| Dyfed-Powys | 8.8 | 4,545 | 8.2 | 48 | 48.0 | 62 | 6.7 | 33 | 8.6 | 4,298 | 4.7 | 9 |
| Essex | 9.0 | 16,718 | 6.9 | 539 | 18.6 | 1,178 | 13.1 | 623 | 7.9 | 12,976 | 6.9 | 133 |
| Gloucestershire | 7.2 | 4,614 | 6.8 | 126 | 31.3 | 243 | 10.5 | 148 | 6.4 | 3,812 | 8.5 | 37 |
| Greater Manchester | 9.7 | 27,793 | 6.0 | 2,352 | 13.1 | 1,755 | 8.5 | 734 | 8.7 | 19,110 | 4.4 | 298 |
| Gwent | 10.9 | 6,382 | 10.5 | 176 | 41.0 | 188 | 8.9 | 79 | 10.5 | 5,793 | 21.4 | 82 |
| Hampshire | 9.8 | 19,536 | 6.6 | 628 | 33.1 | 974 | 12.5 | 522 | 8.8 | 15,928 | 8.2 | 173 |
| Hertfordshire | 8.0 | 9,615 | 4.4 | 451 | 12.8 | 574 | 7.0 | 316 | 5.0 | 4,887 | 5.2 | 130 |
| Humberside | 22.5 | 21,094 | 16.0 | 309 | 38.6 | 294 | 16.4 | 183 | 15.8 | 14,071 | 22.6 | 195 |
| Kent | 11.0 | 20,378 | 5.7 | 491 | 15.1 | 858 | 10.5 | 469 | 7.8 | 12,902 | 11.0 | 257 |
| Lancashire | 10.5 | 16,048 | 2.5 | 399 | 12.1 | 122 | 5.8 | 143 | 4.5 | 5,912 | 4.3 | 51 |
| Leicestershire | 10.2 | 11,447 | 6.7 | 1,462 | 25.2 | 940 | 10.4 | 315 | 9.3 | 7,559 | 7.6 | 174 |
| Lincolnshire | 7.8 | 6,014 | 5.2 | 62 | 27.9 | 122 | 8.0 | 81 | 7.3 | 5,370 | 9.4 | 41 |
| London, City of | 2,021 | 266 | 285 | 123 | 850 | 85 | ||||||
| Merseyside | 11.3 | 16,048 | 4.8 | 213 | 19.8 | 434 | 12.6 | 383 | 10.8 | 14,051 | 13.8 | 299 |
| Metropolitan Police | 11.8 | 103,877 | 8.3 | 15,143 | 23.8 | 28,325 | 12.6 | 6,353 | 9.6 | 45,507 | 7.6 | 4,246 |
| Norfolk | 11.3 | 10,395 | 3.4 | 64 | 17.1 | 143 | 3.6 | 54 | 4.4 | 3,801 | 1.7 | 11 |
| North Wales | 21.3 | 14,648 | 13.6 | 128 | 52.9 | 123 | 19.3 | 140 | 20.6 | 13,677 | 52.1 | 146 |
| North Yorkshire | 11.8 | 9,669 | 9.3 | 149 | 21.4 | 81 | 12.7 | 133 | 11.1 | 8,661 | 11.3 | 54 |
| Northamptonshire | 11.1 | 8,682 | 7.8 | 274 | 23.7 | 750 | 14.5 | 295 | 9.6 | 6,630 | 10.2 | 78 |
| Northumbria | 12.7 | 18,343 | 8.6 | 520 | 18.4 | 322 | 7.4 | 142 | 12.8 | 17,056 | 1.6 | 27 |
| Nottinghamshire | 9.6 | 11,046 | 6.0 | 440 | 17.7 | 746 | 12.0 | 435 | 7.9 | 7,773 | 8.5 | 143 |
| South Wales | 12.7 | 16,748 | 6.8 | 385 | 23.3 | 451 | 10.8 | 298 | 11.3 | 13,531 | 10.3 | 184 |
| South Yorkshire | 13.3 | 18,324 | 11.7 | 928 | 24.0 | 815 | 12.2 | 372 | 12.6 | 15,249 | 13.0 | 331 |
| Staffordshire | 7.0 | 7,896 | 7.9 | 433 | 16.9 | 233 | 11.0 | 232 | 6.6 | 6,832 | 5.9 | 54 |
| Suffolk | 11.4 | 8,646 | 3.7 | 65 | 23.4 | 238 | 6.4 | 114 | 5.0 | 3,534 | 4.3 | 30 |
| Surrey | 7.2 | 8,672 | 5.6 | 518 | 18.1 | 377 | 8.0 | 325 | 6.7 | 6,853 | 7.5 | 151 |
| Sussex | 11.8 | 20,092 | 8.4 | 533 | 35.7 | 763 | 12.9 | 600 | 10.4 | 16,122 | 12.4 | 275 |
| Thames Valley | 13.0 | 32,763 | 9.4 | 2,950 | 26.5 | 2,468 | 16.2 | 1,423 | 10.4 | 20,556 | 5.3 | 259 |
| Warwickshire | 8.0 | 4,767 | 3.6 | 134 | 14.8 | 119 | 5.3 | 72 | 3.8 | 2,035 | 2.2 | 14 |
| West Mercia | 7.6 | 9,933 | 6.4 | 225 | 10.1 | 113 | 4.0 | 88 | 4.7 | 5,736 | 5.0 | 37 |
| West Midlands | 12.9 | 37,519 | 4.7 | 3,135 | 8.6 | 2,027 | 9.4 | 1,142 | 5.2 | 9,373 | 2.9 | 293 |
| West Yorkshire | 14.9 | 35,099 | 14.3 | 5,325 | 22.0 | 1,587 | 20.7 | 1,344 | 13.7 | 24,699 | 9.7 | 389 |
| Wiltshire | 7.5 | 5,608 | 3.3 | 125 | 19.6 | 233 | 10.3 | 157 | 7.1 | 4,776 | 2.7 | 19 |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity and area’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity and area’ (CSV)
Summary of Arrests By ethnicity and area Summary
The data shows that:
- black people had the highest arrest rate in every police force area except for the West Midlands, where people with mixed ethnicity had a similar arrest rate
- the biggest difference in the arrest rates between black people and white people was in Dorset, where black people were 8.2 times as likely to be arrested as white people
- in 9 police force areas, Asian people had a higher arrest rate than white people – in 33 police force areas, the rate was lower or the same
- in 31 police force areas, the mixed ethnic group had a higher arrest rate than the white ethnic group – in 12 police force areas, the rate was lower
- in the Metropolitan Police force area, 54% of people arrested whose ethnicity was known were from the Asian, black, mixed and ‘other’ ethnic groups combined – the highest percentage out of all police force areas
- differences in the arrest rates in England and Wales in part reflect population differences in those areas – for example, many more people from the Asian, black, mixed and ‘other’ ethnic groups live in London than in North Wales
- in London, there were 13.3 arrests for every 1,000 people from ethnic minorities, compared with 9.6 arrests for every 1,000 white people
- Humberside had the highest overall arrest rate, with 22.5 arrests for every 1,000 people
- the police forces with the lowest overall arrest rates were Dorset (6.7 arrests for every 1,000 people), Gloucestershire (7.2), Staffordshire (7.0) and Surrey (7.2)
6. By ethnicity and sex
| All | Female | Male | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ethnicity | All Rate per 1,000 | All Number of arrests | Female Rate per 1,000 | Female Number of arrests | Male Rate per 1,000 | Male Number of arrests |
| All | 11.1 | 663,036 | 3.2 | 98,135 | 19.2 | 561,211 |
| Asian | 7.6 | 42,028 | 1.3 | 3,582 | 14.1 | 38,284 |
| Bangladeshi | 8.8 | 5,706 | 1.2 | 372 | 16.5 | 5,321 |
| Chinese | 2.4 | 1,074 | 1.1 | 263 | 4.0 | 797 |
| Indian | 4.2 | 7,817 | 0.8 | 754 | 7.5 | 7,030 |
| Pakistani | 9.3 | 14,822 | 1.4 | 1,088 | 17.1 | 13,671 |
| Any Other Asian Background | 13.0 | 12,609 | 2.1 | 1,105 | 25.2 | 11,465 |
| Black | 21.2 | 51,018 | 4.2 | 5,371 | 39.9 | 45,536 |
| Black African | 13.4 | 19,882 | 2.5 | 1,963 | 25.2 | 17,869 |
| Black Caribbean | 24.4 | 15,197 | 4.9 | 1,636 | 47.3 | 13,530 |
| Any Other Black Background | 53.5 | 15,939 | 11.8 | 1,772 | 95.4 | 14,137 |
| Mixed | 11.7 | 20,030 | 3.5 | 3,100 | 20.0 | 16,868 |
| Mixed White and Asian | 4.5 | 2,189 | 1.2 | 303 | 7.7 | 1,863 |
| Mixed White and Black African | 9.9 | 2,463 | 2.9 | 374 | 17.0 | 2,082 |
| Mixed White and Black Caribbean | 17.5 | 8,981 | 5.5 | 1,434 | 29.9 | 7,529 |
| Any Other Mixed/Multiple Ethnic Background | 13.7 | 6,397 | 4.1 | 989 | 24.0 | 5,394 |
| White | 9.0 | 438,527 | 2.8 | 70,589 | 15.4 | 367,019 |
| White British | 8.8 | 388,646 | 2.8 | 63,839 | 14.9 | 324,058 |
| Gypsy or Irish Traveller | 14.7 | 994 | 6.1 | 207 | 23.2 | 783 |
| White Irish | 10.5 | 5,334 | 2.8 | 751 | 18.7 | 4,562 |
| Roma | N/A* | N/A* | N/A* | N/A* | N/A* | N/A* |
| Any Other White Background | 11.9 | 43,553 | 3.0 | 5,792 | 21.9 | 37,616 |
| Other | 7.8 | 9,801 | 1.6 | 981 | 13.8 | 8,788 |
| Arab | 2.8 | 917 | 0.2 | 34 | 5.0 | 880 |
| Any Other Ethnic Background | 9.6 | 8,884 | 2.1 | 947 | 17.1 | 7,908 |
| Unknown | N/A* | 101,632 | N/A* | 14,512 | N/A* | 84,716 |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity and sex’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity and sex’ (CSV)
Summary of Arrests By ethnicity and sex Summary
The data shows that:
- there were 19.2 arrests for every 1,000 men, and 3.2 arrests for every 1,000 women
- black men were over 2.5 times as likely to be arrested as white men – there were 39.9 arrests for every 1,000 black men, and 15.4 arrests for every 1,000 white men
- black women were 1.5 times as likely to be arrested as white women – there were 4.2 arrests for every 1,000 black women, and 2.8 arrests for every 1,000 white women
- in the Asian ethnic group, men were 11 times as likely to be arrested as women – there were 14.1 arrests for every 1,000 men, and 1.3 arrests for every 1,000 women, the biggest gap between men and women from the same ethnic group
7. Data sources
Source
Police powers and procedures: England and Wales, year ending 31 March 2022.
Type of data
Administrative data
Type of statistic
National Statistics
Publisher
Home Office
Publication frequency
Yearly
Purpose of data source
Figures on arrests and stop and search reported to the Home Office are used to create greater transparency in the use of police powers 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 arrests and stop and search. It informs discussions about crime, policing and criminal justice in government and academia, and ensures the public are accurately informed.
8. Download the data
This file contains the following: measure, ethnicity, year, gender, age group, geography, numbers of arrests, rates of arrests, population estimates
This file contains the following: measure, ethnicity, year, gender, age group, geography, numbers of arrests, rates of arrests, population estimates
This file contains the following: measure, ethnicity, year, gender, age group, geography, numbers of arrests, rates of arrests, population estimates
This file contains the following: measure, ethnicity, year, gender, age group, geography, numbers of arrests, rates of arrests, population estimates