Pre-charge bail overview of the evidence, raw data files (accessible version)
Updated 6 September 2021
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/police-powers-pre-charge-bail/outcome/pre-charge-bail-overview-of-the-evidence-raw-data-files-accessible-version
Note: Figure numbers are the same as those in the report
Figure 2 - Number of individuals arrested and subsequently placed on PCB in England and Wales, based on a sample of 27 forces
Pre-charge bail data
Law Society
| Year | Number of individuals |
|---|---|
| 2016/17 | 190,015 |
| 2017/18 | 29,322 |
Home Office
| Year | Number of individuals |
|---|---|
| 2018/19 | 60,475 |
| 2019/20 | 115,842 |
Source: The Law Society, 2019; Home Office, 2019; Home Office, 2020a
Figure 3 - Estimated ratio of PCB volumes to arrests, years 2016/17 and 2017/18, selected forces
2016/17
| Force | Number on PCB | Total arrests | Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hertfordshire | 1224 | 13846 | 9 |
| Cleveland | 1693 | 12016 | 14 |
| Dorset | 3222 | 8598 | 37 |
| Thames Valley | 13768 | 34614 | 40 |
| Derbyshire | 658 | 12910 | 5 |
| Devon and Cornwall | 4743 | 11881 | 40 |
| Leicestershire | 4786 | 10685 | 45 |
| Avon and Somerset | 7255 | 17583 | 41 |
| North Wales | 4247 | 12704 | 33 |
| Staffordshire | 5628 | 14611 | 39 |
| Northamptonshire | 2949 | 8712 | 34 |
| Nottinghamshire | 7392 | 14531 | 51 |
| Cheshire | 4742 | 13214 | 36 |
| Lincolnshire | 3665 | 9595 | 38 |
| Merseyside | 3874 | 17899 | 22 |
| Gwent | 2950 | 5871 | 50 |
| Bedfordshire | 3317 | 8296 | 40 |
| Greater Manchester | 12370 | 31275 | 40 |
| London Metropolitan | 67838 | 152192 | 45 |
| Cumbria | 3877 | 7588 | 51 |
| Cambridgeshire | 5330 | 11022 | 48 |
| Norfolk | 530 | 11676 | 5 |
| Warwickshire | 2865 | 5730 | 50 |
| Surrey | 5280 | 9220 | 57 |
| Suffolk | 867 | 6916 | 13 |
| South Wales | 5333 | 24743 | 22 |
| West Mercia | 7541 | 13649 | 55 |
| Essex | 14441 | 20339 | 71 |
| Total for 28 forces | 202385 | 521916 | 39 |
2017/18
| Force | Number on PCB | Total arrests | Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hertfordshire | 77 | 12338 | 1 |
| Cleveland | 78 | 10662 | 1 |
| Dorset | 87 | 7460 | 1 |
| Thames Valley | 379 | 32137 | 1 |
| Derbyshire | 159 | 10766 | 1 |
| Devon and Cornwall | 211 | 11634 | 2 |
| Leicestershire | 253 | 11379 | 2 |
| Avon and Somerset | 367 | 15997 | 2 |
| North Wales | 447 | 12123 | 4 |
| Staffordshire | 463 | 12513 | 4 |
| Northamptonshire | 331 | 8167 | 4 |
| Nottinghamshire | 562 | 13434 | 4 |
| Cheshire | 526 | 11789 | 4 |
| Lincolnshire | 437 | 8824 | 5 |
| Merseyside | 929 | 16866 | 6 |
| Gwent | 366 | 5331 | 7 |
| Bedfordshire | 514 | 7445 | 7 |
| Greater Manchester | 1846 | 26656 | 7 |
| London Metropolitan | 9881 | 125108 | 8 |
| Cumbria | 614 | 7394 | 8 |
| Cambridgeshire | 824 | 9502 | 9 |
| Norfolk | 889 | 10124 | 9 |
| Warwickshire | 543 | 5088 | 11 |
| Surrey | 1033 | 9343 | 11 |
| Suffolk | 832 | 6845 | 12 |
| South Wales | 2869 | 20988 | 14 |
| West Mercia | 1697 | 11466 | 15 |
| Essex | 3954 | 16348 | 24 |
| Total for 28 forces | 31168 | 457727 | 7 |
Note:
1) Lancashire removed as did not provide arrest data for 2017/18
2) There is a two-day difference between the timeframes for the arrest data collected for the Home Office Police Powers and Procedures publication (1 April to 31 March) and the FOI data provided by the Law Society (3 April to 2 April).
Source: The Law Society, 2019; Home Office, 2020a
Figure 4 - Percentage change in ‘victim does not support - suspect identified’, by force area and year, years ending March 2016 to 2020
| Force | Year ending March 2016 | Year ending March 2017 | Year ending March 2018 | Year ending March 2019 | Year ending March 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avon & Somerset | 13180 | 25686 | 26659 | 26870 | 31045 |
| Bedfordshire | 4301 | 4718 | 6544 | 9854 | 11600 |
| British Transport Police | 956 | 1191 | 1908 | 2149 | 1985 |
| Cambridgeshire | 4044 | 4192 | 6439 | 9153 | 13340 |
| Cheshire | 6212 | 10612 | 21298 | 29559 | 33141 |
| Cleveland | 7344 | 8895 | 11672 | 17649 | 19366 |
| Cumbria | 2899 | 3693 | 4715 | 8435 | 11467 |
| Derbyshire | 1573 | 1585 | 4150 | 5203 | 19348 |
| Devon & Cornwall | 10544 | 11734 | 23865 | 27250 | 22958 |
| Dorset | 3244 | 4802 | 6254 | 9130 | 11141 |
| Durham | 3354 | 8772 | 13537 | 13503 | 15630 |
| Dyfed-Powys | 2350 | 3904 | 5930 | 7709 | 10631 |
| Essex | 10694 | 15426 | 20163 | 32466 | 42061 |
| Gloucestershire | 3507 | 4270 | 5816 | 6954 | 10875 |
| Gwent | 5695 | 6884 | 10136 | 13399 | 13999 |
| Hampshire | 30596 | 31157 | 26632 | 24838 | 24287 |
| Hertfordshire | 6995 | 10636 | 15104 | 18157 | 20177 |
| Humberside | 12070 | 13196 | 17922 | 23919 | 19644 |
| Kent | 21069 | 25963 | 37277 | 48413 | 52879 |
| Lancashire | 8535 | 11157 | 20531 | 31989 | 32054 |
| Leicestershire | 3697 | 6070 | 12707 | 16143 | 18358 |
| Lincolnshire | 1352 | 1703 | 2601 | 8955 | 15990 |
| London, City of | 253 | 270 | 292 | 435 | 362 |
| Merseyside | 8960 | 14020 | 19840 | 28552 | 32971 |
| Metropolitan Police | 68503 | 87115 | 94771 | 100875 | 81599 |
| Norfolk | 5237 | 7658 | 11362 | 15174 | 18023 |
| North Wales | 6160 | 8081 | 11138 | 17228 | 16517 |
| North Yorkshire | 3517 | 4132 | 3110 | 2706 | 5357 |
| Northamptonshire | 5743 | 5926 | 8574 | 11774 | 16347 |
| Northumbria | 7145 | 21117 | 33704 | 26734 | 22500 |
| Nottinghamshire | 6288 | 8523 | 13111 | 18253 | 21234 |
| South Wales | 10783 | 13406 | 22284 | 27296 | 27662 |
| South Yorkshire | 5864 | 12059 | 25029 | 33872 | 34732 |
| Staffordshire | 10495 | 15744 | 16003 | 19351 | 18035 |
| Suffolk | 4222 | 6507 | 10080 | 10589 | 11958 |
| Surrey | 5720 | 7082 | 10451 | 10875 | 12305 |
| Sussex | 10488 | 16509 | 19649 | 21931 | 26348 |
| Thames Valley | 12158 | 14460 | 17041 | 29521 | 39636 |
| Warwickshire | 3785 | 6123 | 7547 | 9825 | 9570 |
| West Mercia | 11547 | 15321 | 18423 | 23726 | 25975 |
| West Midlands | 14769 | 19171 | 24803 | 36969 | 53049 |
| West Yorkshire | 20600 | 32870 | 47556 | 58599 | 75825 |
| Wiltshire | 6231 | 6462 | 6149 | 9396 | 7326 |
| Grand Total | 392679 | 538802 | 722777 | 905378 | 1009307 |
Notes:
(1) Numbers of ‘victim does not support action - suspect identified’ outcome recorded in each year, regardless of date of offence.
(2) Excludes Greater Manchester Police, who were unable to provide data
Source: Home Office, 2020b
Figure 5 - Median time between offence recorded and outcome assigned, years ending March 2016 to 2020
| Year ending March 2016 | Year ending March 2017 | Year ending March 2018 | Year ending March 2019 | Year ending March 2020 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Evidential difficulties (suspect identified; victim supports action) | 36 | 39 | 40 | 45 | 45 |
| Charge/summons | 14 | 17 | 18 | 23 | 33 |
| Evidential difficulties (victim does not support action) | 16 | 14 | 12 | 16 | 15 |
| Investigation complete - no suspect identified | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
Source: Home Office (2020c)
Figure 6 - Number of individuals put on PCB before and after the reforms (years ending 2 April 2017 and 2018) for selected forces
| Force | 2016/17 | 2017/18 |
|---|---|---|
| Avon and Somerset | 7,255 | 367 |
| Bedfordshire | 3,317 | 514 |
| Cambridgeshire | 5,330 | 824 |
| Cheshire | 4,742 | 526 |
| Cleveland | 1,693 | 78 |
| Cumbria | 3,877 | 614 |
| Derbyshire | 658 | 159 |
| Devon and Cornwall | 4,743 | 211 |
| Dorset | 3,222 | 87 |
| Essex | 14,441 | 3,954 |
| Greater Manchester | 12,370 | 1,846 |
| Gwent | 2,950 | 366 |
| Hertfordshire | 1,224 | 77 |
| Lancashire | 843 | 1115 |
| Leicestershire | 4,786 | 253 |
| Lincolnshire | 3,665 | 437 |
| Merseyside | 3,874 | 929 |
| Norfolk | 530 | 889 |
| North Wales | 4,247 | 447 |
| Northamptonshire | 2,949 | 331 |
| Nottinghamshire | 7,392 | 562 |
| South Wales | 5,333 | 2,869 |
| Staffordshire | 5,628 | 463 |
| Suffolk | 867 | 832 |
| Surrey | 5,280 | 1,033 |
| Thames Valley | 13,768 | 379 |
| Warwickshire | 2,865 | 543 |
| West Mercia | 7,541 | 1,697 |
| Total | 135,390 | 22402 |
Note: This data excludes London Metropolitan Police
Source: The Law Society, 2019
Figure 7 - Estimated ratio of PCB volumes to arrests before and after the reforms in 2016/17 and 2017/18 for 28 forces
2016/17
| Force | Number on PCB | Total arrests | Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hertfordshire | 1224 | 13846 | 9 |
| Cleveland | 1693 | 12016 | 14 |
| Dorset | 3222 | 8598 | 37 |
| Thames Valley | 13768 | 34614 | 40 |
| Derbyshire | 658 | 12910 | 5 |
| Devon and Cornwall | 4743 | 11881 | 40 |
| Leicestershire | 4786 | 10685 | 45 |
| Avon and Somerset | 7255 | 17583 | 41 |
| North Wales | 4247 | 12704 | 33 |
| Staffordshire | 5628 | 14611 | 39 |
| Northamptonshire | 2949 | 8712 | 34 |
| Nottinghamshire | 7392 | 14531 | 51 |
| Cheshire | 4742 | 13214 | 36 |
| Lincolnshire | 3665 | 9595 | 38 |
| Merseyside | 3874 | 17899 | 22 |
| Gwent | 2950 | 5871 | 50 |
| Bedfordshire | 3317 | 8296 | 40 |
| Greater Manchester | 12370 | 31275 | 40 |
| London Metropolitan | 67838 | 152192 | 45 |
| Cumbria | 3877 | 7588 | 51 |
| Cambridgeshire | 5330 | 11022 | 48 |
| Norfolk | 530 | 11676 | 5 |
| Warwickshire | 2865 | 5730 | 50 |
| Surrey | 5280 | 9220 | 57 |
| Suffolk | 867 | 6916 | 13 |
| South Wales | 5333 | 24743 | 22 |
| West Mercia | 7541 | 13649 | 55 |
| Essex | 14441 | 20339 | 71 |
| Total for 28 forces | 202385 | 521916 | 39 |
2017/18
| Force | Number on PCB | Total arrests | Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hertfordshire | 77 | 12338 | 1 |
| Cleveland | 78 | 10662 | 1 |
| Dorset | 87 | 7460 | 1 |
| Thames Valley | 379 | 32137 | 1 |
| Derbyshire | 159 | 10766 | 1 |
| Devon and Cornwall | 211 | 11634 | 2 |
| Leicestershire | 253 | 11379 | 2 |
| Avon and Somerset | 367 | 15997 | 2 |
| North Wales | 447 | 12123 | 4 |
| Staffordshire | 463 | 12513 | 4 |
| Northamptonshire | 331 | 8167 | 4 |
| Nottinghamshire | 562 | 13434 | 4 |
| Cheshire | 526 | 11789 | 4 |
| Lincolnshire | 437 | 8824 | 5 |
| Merseyside | 929 | 16866 | 6 |
| Gwent | 366 | 5331 | 7 |
| Bedfordshire | 514 | 7445 | 7 |
| Greater Manchester | 1846 | 26656 | 7 |
| London Metropolitan | 9881 | 125108 | 8 |
| Cumbria | 614 | 7394 | 8 |
| Cambridgeshire | 824 | 9502 | 9 |
| Norfolk | 889 | 10124 | 9 |
| Warwickshire | 543 | 5088 | 11 |
| Surrey | 1033 | 9343 | 11 |
| Suffolk | 832 | 6845 | 12 |
| South Wales | 2869 | 20988 | 14 |
| West Mercia | 1697 | 11466 | 15 |
| Essex | 3954 | 16348 | 24 |
| Total for 28 forces | 31168 | 457727 | 7 |
Note:
1) Lancashire removed as did not provide arrest data for 2017/18
2) There is a two-day difference between the timeframes for the arrest data collected for the Home Office Police Powers and Procedures publication (1 April to 31 March) and the FOI data provided by the Law Society (3 April to 2 April).
Source: The Law Society, 2019; Home Office, 2020a