Keep Factually independent
Whether you agree or disagree with our analysis, these conversations matter for democracy. We don't take money from political groups - even a $5 donation helps us keep it that way.
How do arrest rates for online speech in England in 2023 compare across regions and police forces?
Executive summary
Available reporting identifies roughly 12,000 arrests in the UK in 2023 for offences recorded under section 127 of the Communications Act 2003 and section 1 of the Malicious Communications Act 1988 — 12,183 arrests is the figure cited in multiple summaries [1] [2]. Coverage highlights big differences between raw arrest totals (Metropolitan Police 1,709; West Yorkshire 963; Thames Valley 939) and population-adjusted rates (Leicestershire highest per 100,000 at 83), but central government statistics by force or region are limited and the government does not publish breakdowns by these specific offences centrally [1] [3].
1. What the headline numbers actually are — and their sources
The most-cited number is 12,183 arrests in 2023 for the two communications offences under discussion; that total comes from custody data reported by The Times and summarised by organisations such as the Free Speech Union and repeated in parliamentary debate [1] [2]. Commentary using that figure converts it to “about 33 arrests a day” to give scale [1] [4].
2. Regional and force-level differences reported so far
Reporting based on the dataset identified the Metropolitan Police as having the highest raw total (1,709 arrests), followed by West Yorkshire [5] and Thames Valley [6] [1]. When adjusted for population, Leicestershire was reported as having the highest rate per 100,000 people (83 per 100,000), showing that raw counts and rates can tell different stories [1].
3. Limits in official transparency and why comparisons are hard
The Home Office does publish arrest data by offence group rather than by the specific communications offences, and the government does not centrally publish numbers specifically for section 1 of the Malicious Communications Act 1988 and section 127 of the Communications Act 2003; Lords Library and parliamentary debate note this gap [3]. That gap means independent reporting relies on custody data obtained by individual news organisations rather than a single, standard public dataset [3] [2].
4. What the pattern over time looks like, per reporting
Several pieces note a near-60% rise in arrests between 2019 and 2023 (from ~7,734 in 2019 to 12,183 in 2023), and commentary in Parliament and the Lords Library emphasises that arrests have risen while convictions and sentencings have fallen — for example, Ministry of Justice figures cited show sentencings for the named offences were 1,119 in 2023, down from 1,995 in 2015 [1] [3] [2]. Reporters and commentators use these contrasts to question policing priorities and charging decisions [2].
5. How different outlets frame the same data — competing perspectives
Civil‑liberties and free-speech groups present the rise as over‑policing of online expression and an erosion of free speech rights [1] [4]. Other commentators and fact-checkers caution that the arrest figures cover a wide range of conduct — from genuinely threatening communications and fake bomb threats to offensive messages — so treating all arrests as equivalent “speech policing” can be misleading [7] [8]. Both framings rely on the same custody totals but draw different inferences about intent and proportionality [1] [7].
6. What the arrests do and do not tell us about outcomes
Multiple sources emphasise that many arrests never result in prosecution or conviction — out‑of‑court resolutions and decisions not to charge explain part of the gap between high arrest totals and much lower sentencing numbers [1] [2]. The Lords Library notes the government’s lack of a central breakdown, so we lack a complete picture of charges, acquittals, cautions, or other disposals by force [3].
7. Practical implications for regional comparisons and for readers
Because central datasets for these two offence codes are not publicly available by force/region, any regional ranking outside the published custody data should be treated cautiously; the best-available reporting gives raw counts (Metropolitan, West Yorkshire, Thames Valley) and a highlighted rate for Leicestershire but does not present a full, verified per‑force ranking from an official national dataset [1] [3]. Readers should therefore distinguish: raw counts reflect policing volume; population-adjusted rates reflect policing intensity; and neither alone explains prosecutorial thresholds or case outcomes [1] [7].
8. What reporters and Parliament are asking for next
Parliamentary discussion and Lords Library analysis call attention to the rise in arrests and the absence of central, offence‑specific publication, pressing for clearer data and safeguards to prevent overly broad enforcement practices [2] [3]. Those debates are the main avenue in available reporting for addressing regional comparability and for seeking consistent national statistics [2].
Limitations: available sources are the media summaries, the Free Speech Union analysis, and parliamentary materials cited above; central Home Office datasets by force for these specific offences are “not published” according to the Lords Library, so a complete official regional breakdown is not found in current reporting [3].