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.
What data sources (ONS, Home Office, police forces) publish statistics on nationality and sexual offences, and how do they define 'foreign national'?
Executive summary
Official bodies publish different pieces of the picture: the Home Office publishes statistics on “foreign national offenders” (FNOs) and immigration-system tables, the ONS holds some crime and population data and handles classifications connected to nationality/immigration, and individual police forces have arrest/charge data that has been released by FOI or compiled by third parties—but there is no single, consistent official time‑series of sexual offences by “foreign national” that aligns definitions and denominators (Home Office: FNO summaries and migration tables; ONS: population and certain crime tabulations; police forces: arrest-level FOI releases) [1][2][3]. The Home Office says its detailed FNO system currently has quality issues and that further breakdowns (by offence type or nationality) will initially be classed as experimental while the system is rebuilt [1].
1. Who publishes what: Home Office’s FNO and immigration system statistics
The Home Office publishes summary counts of foreign national offenders (FNOs) detained in prison under immigration powers, FNO returns by nationality and destination, and FNOs in the community as part of its quarterly “Immigration system statistics” and “Migration transparency data”; it also signals plans to publish more detailed reporting on FNOs subject to deportation or return once data-system work is finished, and that interim detailed breakdowns will be labelled “experimental statistics” because of data‑quality limitations [1].
2. Who publishes what: Office for National Statistics (ONS)
The ONS holds crime and population datasets and responds to Freedom of Information requests about “crime by nationality”; ONS datasets are used as population denominators (for example, nationality and country‑of‑birth population counts) and it has historically published crime breakdowns and transparency responses, but ONS releases do not provide a routine, national offender series explicitly labelled “foreign national” for sexual offences across police forces and courts in a single table [2][4].
3. Who publishes what: Police forces and FOI releases
Individual police forces collect arrest and charge data and have supplied nationality breakdowns under FOI to journalists and campaign groups; media outlets have used those FOI returns to compile league tables and arrest counts for sexual offences by nationality (for example reports citing 8,500 arrests of foreign nationals for sexual offences) but these are patchwork, vary by force, and may exclude dual nationals or use different counting windows [3][5].
4. How “foreign national” is defined in these sources
The Home Office uses the label “foreign national offender” (FNO) in its publications—an operational category tied to immigration status and removal/deportation processes—but it warns its current data system has quality problems and does not yet support robust, detailed offence- or nationality-level statistics without experimental classification [1]. The ONS and other bodies often use alternative concepts such as “non‑UK born,” “non‑citizen,” or nationality recorded at arrest/charge; different definitions are used in different datasets (for example migration briefings typically use “foreign‑born” while Home Office work uses FNO) [6][1].
5. Key limitations and why comparisons can mislead
Experts and reporting note important limits: population denominators may be out of date (e.g., relying on 2021 census or earlier ONS population estimates) while offence windows cover later years, producing inflated rate ratios; police FOI data are inconsistent across forces; and the Home Office itself flags system quality issues that force some outputs to be classed experimental [7][1]. The Migration Observatory and other analysts emphasise that definitions (foreign‑born vs non‑citizen vs FNO), age structure, reporting differences, and residence duration matter when comparing rates [6][8].
6. Competing narratives and how they use the data
Political actors and media outlets have used FOI police returns and Home Office/ONS figures to argue both that foreign nationals disproportionately commit sexual offences and that such headline ratios are unreliable. For example, politicians citing high shares of sexual offences attributed to foreign nationals have been challenged in press fact checks because numerator and denominator mismatches (and outdated population figures) can produce misleading magnitudes [7][3]. Migration‑focused commentators likewise use Home Office prison counts to argue for stronger immigration enforcement; the Home Office’s pending publication of nationality tables is partly a response to that political pressure [9][10].
7. Practical takeaway for researchers and journalists
To analyse sexual offences by nationality responsibly, combine: (a) clarity about which definition you use (FNO, non‑citizen, foreign‑born, nationality at arrest), (b) matching numerator and denominator timeframes and data sources (ONS population estimates vs police arrest windows), and (c) careful attention to Home Office caveats about data quality and experimental status. Because the Home Office plans expanded (but initially experimental) releases, expect more granular tables soon, but treat early breakdowns as provisional while systems are rebuilt [1][10].
Sources consulted: Home Office statistics and statements on FNOs and the immigration system [1]; ONS transparency/FOI pages on crime and nationality [2][4]; police FOI–based media reporting [3][5]; Migration Observatory analysis on definitions and limits [6][8]; press scrutiny of political claims [7]; recent coverage of planned nationality releases [9][10].