Section 127 of the Communications Act

Freedom of Information (FOI) Act request ref: 01/FOI/25/9110

Version Date: 08/12/2025

The number of arrests your force has made under Section 127 of the Communications Act 2003 and Section 1 of the Malicious Communications Act 1988. Can this data be broken down by calendar year, from 2017 to the most recent available year.

The Performance & Analysis Department has provided the following information:

Data Collection:

Crime Record Management System - NICHE

Crime Record Management System - UNIFI

Qlik Sense Report: Detainee Management - Arrest Data

Date: 01/04/2018 - 11/11/2025

Arrest Offence Code: 196/07, 008/72

Data Processing:

Pivot Arrest Data, with Arrest Offence Code, Arrest Offence as the columns, and Arrest Date Time (years) as the columns and display Sum of Arrests.

Data Limitations:

Data only available from 01/04/2018.

It is important to note that an individual could be arrest for multiple offences, this table shows the total number of arrests, not the number of individuals arrested.

*From 1st April

**Up to 11th November