Arrests public order (FOI Ref: 696/26)
FOI Request Reference: 696/26
Thank you for your request for information, received 16/3/2026
Request
Please provide the following data for each of the calendar years 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025:
The total number of arrests made under Section 4 of the Public Order Act 1986.
The total number of arrests made under Section 5 of the Public Order Act 1986.
The total number of arrests made under Section 4A of the Public Order Act 1986.
The total number of arrests made under Section 127 of the Communications Act 2003.
The total number of arrests made under Section 1 of the Malicious Communications Act 1988.
For each category, the number of arrests that resulted in: charge and prosecution, caution, no further action, release without charge.
Response
Please find enclosed our response.
Please note that in 2021 we switched over to a different recording system and as a result not all the data that you have requested is available. Where the data is available, we have provided it in the answers below.
Section 127 of the Communications Act 2003 and Section 1 of the Malicious Communications Act 1988, are recorded as malicious communications as one whole, and we are unable to separate. It is however important to note that there are several offences under this offence title, and some may have been booked in for a different offence.
The overall arrest figures are:
|
Year |
Public Order Act |
Malicious Communications Act 1988 & 2003 |
||
|
Section 4 |
Section 5 |
Section 4A |
||
|
2020 |
657 |
991 |
0 |
0 |
|
2021 |
828 |
505 |
416 |
0 |
|
2022 |
892 |
266 |
631 |
328 |
|
2023 |
854 |
265 |
772 |
617 |
|
2024 |
780 |
275 |
865 |
533 |
|
2025 |
809 |
293 |
1063 |
614 |
Due to the change in computer systems, there are some 0 results. Clearly, we will have arrested individuals for Malicious communication in 2020 and 2021 – however the way that this has been recorded on the arrests systems will have changed.
Q1. The total number of arrests made under Section 4 of the Public Order Act 1986.
|
Year |
Adult Caution |
Adult Conditional Caution |
Charge |
Charge - Postal |
Refused Charge (NFA) |
Released Without Charge - Mental Health Reasons |
Youth Conditional Caution |
|
2021 |
4 |
22 |
122 |
- |
187 |
1 |
- |
|
2022 |
12 |
33 |
166 |
- |
279 |
- |
1 |
|
2023 |
8 |
30 |
166 |
2 |
267 |
- |
- |
|
2024 |
9 |
22 |
155 |
- |
214 |
1 |
1 |
|
2025 |
- |
23 |
212 |
1 |
184 |
- |
1 |
This outcome data will not match the offence volume on the overall arrests, this is because there are other outcomes that are available.
Q2. The total number of arrests made under Section 5 of the Public Order Act 1986.
|
Year |
Adult Caution |
Adult Conditional Caution |
Charge |
Refused Charge (NFA) |
|
2021 |
1 |
3 |
45 |
60 |
|
2022 |
4 |
13 |
42 |
83 |
|
2023 |
1 |
11 |
58 |
65 |
|
2024 |
- |
5 |
63 |
59 |
|
2025 |
1 |
10 |
78 |
56 |
This outcome data will not match the offence volume on the overall arrests, this is because there are other outcomes that are available.
Q3. The total number of arrests made under Section 4A of the Public Order Act 1986.
|
Year |
Adult Caution |
Adult Conditional Caution |
Charge |
Charge - Postal |
Refused Charge (NFA) |
Youth Caution |
|
2021 |
9 |
13 |
66 |
- |
80 |
- |
|
2022 |
3 |
22 |
117 |
- |
137 |
- |
|
2023 |
4 |
33 |
158 |
- |
179 |
- |
|
2024 |
3 |
28 |
197 |
1 |
158 |
- |
|
2025 |
2 |
28 |
303 |
1 |
184 |
1 |
This outcome data will not match the offence volume on the overall arrests, this is because there are other outcomes that are available.
Q4. The total number of arrests made under Section 127 of the Communications Act 2003.
Q5. The total number of arrests made under Section 1 of the Malicious Communications Act 1988.
|
Year |
Adult Caution |
Adult Conditional Caution |
Charge |
Charge - Postal |
Refused Charge (NFA) |
|
2022 |
1 |
12 |
34 |
- |
110 |
|
2023 |
7 |
26 |
45 |
- |
212 |
|
2024 |
7 |
19 |
70 |
- |
142 |
|
2025 |
1 |
40 |
80 |
1 |
170 |
This outcome data will not match the offence volume on the overall arrests, this is because there are other outcomes that are available.
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. Consequently, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are considered 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 considered 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.