Migrants '34% more likely to be arrested by police' than UK nationals

The CMC report shows that in 2023, the arrest rate for British nationals was one per 94 individuals, meaning that for every 94 people, one arrest was made, though some individuals may have been arrested more than once.

However, for foreign-born nationals, the rate increased to one in 70, representing a 34% higher arrest rate.

Using data from dozens of police forces, the CMC projected that since 2021 there have been a staggering 369,000 arrests of non-UK nationals on Britain’s streets. This accounts for nearly 19% of the 1.96 million total arrests recorded during this period, exceeding the 16% of Britain's population that is non-UK born.

Almost 90% of the forces surveyed provided data showing that migrants are overrepresented in arrest statistics when compared to their overall population size.

Lee Anderson, the Reform Party MP for Ashfield in Nottinghamshire, told GB News: “This data comes as no surprise to me at all.

“This figure would actually be much higher if our woke police bosses were more bothered about tackling crime than they are about being labelled as racist.”

Of the 26 police forces the CMC analysed, the think tank found that in the last three years migrants - defined as citizens not born in the UK - accounted for 16.5% of all arrests in these areas. However, the equivalent foreign-born population in the areas surveyed is just 12.8%, meaning foreign-born nationals were overrepresented in the number of arrests made.

Nick Timothy, the Conservative MP, said: "At a time when European governments are carefully researching the fiscal and social effects of different profiles of migrant, the British state is publishing less, not more, data.

"We already know that some nationalities are disproportionately likely to be in prison, and this research shows worrying new information about the numbers of migrants arrested. We need transparency and an honest debate about the kind of immigration system that works for Britain."

The Home Office has come under increasing criticism in recent weeks for refusing to provide data on the nationalities of criminals.

The Home Office told former Conservative minister Neil O’Brien last year that it does not collect data on whether those arrested are foreign-born.

In May, Tory MP and leadership contender Robert Jenrick warned of a “data desert” around Britain's migration policy.

The CMC report found that in some areas of England, migrants were dramatically overrepresented in arrest figures.

For example, in 2021 in Cambridgeshire, migrants made up 48% of all arrests made.

The data shows that Humberside has the highest migrant arrest rate of all the regions analysed, with one arrest per 29 foreign-born residents.

Earlier this week Keir Starmer’s government released 1,750 prisoners early to ease pressure on Britain’s overcrowded prisons.

This had led to calls for the deportation of the 10,400 foreign nationals currently occupying prison places, including from the Reform Party’s Deputy Leader Richard Tice.

Robert Bates, the founder and Research Director of the Centre for Migration Control, claimed that these figures showed that “mass migration is all making us all less safe”.

He said: “There should not be a single individual coming to the UK and running foul of the law.

“The fact that we have seen over three hundred thousand foreign-national arrests since 2021 reveals the cruel damage that open-borders are inflicting on communities across our country.”

The migration expert added: “This is literally mad. Countless lives have been ruined by criminals invited and welcomed into our country by a reckless political class who remain incubated from the worst excesses of the experiment that they have inflicted on the rest of us.

“Rather than listen to legitimate concerns of the public they have set about planning our nation’s funeral.

“This should be the end of the debate. Mass migration has failed. It has not provided a scintilla of the economic growth that we were promised and has eroded our society into one of widespread distrust and unease.”

The Centre for Migration Control submitted Freedom of Information requests to all 46 constabularies in England and Wales requesting data on non-UK national arrests in the years 2021, 2022, and 2023.

20 of these constabularies refused to provide the data, claiming that they did not routinely collect or collate data on the nationality of those arrested. However, 26 were able to supply the information requested.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “We are fully committed to ensuring our borders are secure and our streets are safe.

“The Government has begun delivering a major surge in immigration enforcement and returns activity to remove people with no right to be in the UK and ensure the rules are respected and enforced.”