Outstanding arrest warrants (FOI ref: 2428A/25)

Request

As of November 4 2025, or based on the most recent available figures:

• How many active or outstanding arrest warrants were held by your force?
• What offences were the warrants issued for?
• How many of the warrants were issued more than a year ago?
• What offences were the warrants issued more than a year ago issued for?

Response

How many active or outstanding arrest warrants were held by your force?

2,611 (data is correct as at 09 November 2025).

What offences were the warrants issued for?

As per (d) below for previous years PLUS  Aggravated Burglary, Bomb Hoax, Commit Offence W/I To Commit A Sex Offence, Conspiracy - Outside The Uk – Theft, Criminal Trespass, Forgery (Road Traffic Act), Image Based Sexual Abuse, Misc, Voyeurism.

How many of the warrants were issued more than a year ago?

1,133

What offences were the warrants issued more than a year ago issued for?

Abduction, Air Weapons, Aircraft/Shipping – Protection Of, Arson, Assault On Police, Bail Offences, Betting/Gaming. Blackmail, Breach Of Court Order, Buggery/Gross Indecency, Burglary, Child Cruelty, Child Protection, Common Assault, Conspiracy – Outside Of Uk – Assault, Consumer Protection/Unfair Trading, Contempt Of Court, Copyright Offences, Criminal Damage/Dangerous Interference, Cruelty To Animals, Dangerous Dogs, Death By Reckless/Dangerous Driving, Drink/Licensing Offences, Driving Whilst Disqualified, Drugs - Regulatory Offences, Drugs - Supply/Use/Manufacture, Election Offences, Enclosed Premises/Loitering, Escapes From Custody, Firearms – Possession, Forgery, Fraud, Going Equipped, Handling, Harassment, Health And Safety Offences, Human Rights Offences, Identity Card Offences, Ill-Treatment Of Mental Patients, Immigration/Aliens Offences, Impeding Apprehension/Prosecution, Indecent Assault, Indecent Exposure, Kidnapping, Minor Road Traffic Offences, Murder, Obscene Publications, Obstructing Police, Offensive Weapon, Perjury, Perverting The Course Of Justice, Photographs/Sound Recordings In Prison, Possession Supply And Use Of Firearms, Post Office/Telecommunications Offences, Proceeds Of Crime, Procuration, Prostitution Offences, Protection Of Food And The Environment, Public Order, Rape, Rioting, Robbery, Serious Assault, Sex Offenders Registration, Sexual Offences - Protected Material, Smuggling, Taking/Interfering With Conveyances, Theft, Threatening Behaviour, Threats To Kill, Tobacco Products Offences, Witness.

“As the second largest force in the country, we would expect to have one of the highest number of people wanted on warrant.

“The majority of offences people are wanted for are deemed comparatively low level, such as failing to appear at court, minor traffic offences, criminal damage and common assault.

“What is most important is that we have robust systems in place to identify, track and locate those individuals who present the greatest threat of harm to the public.”

Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that this data has been extracted from a number of data sources used by forces for police purposes. The detail collected to respond specifically to your request may be subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when interpreting the data.

The figures provided therefore are our best interpretation of data which has relevance to your request, but you should be aware that the collation of figures for ad hoc requests may have limitations and this should be taken into account when those data are used.

If you decide to write an article / use the enclosed data we would ask you to take into consideration the factors highlighted in this document so as to not mislead members of the public or official bodies, or misrepresent the relevance of the whole or any part of this disclosed material.