September 26, 2025 | Incident and Crime Statistics , Arrests
Request Number: FOI/15671
Category: Incident and Crime Statistics – Arrests
Subject: Arrests Due to Communications
Request and Answer:
Your request for information has now been considered. In respect of Section 1(1)(a) of the Act we can confirm that the Police Service of Northern Ireland does hold information to which your request relates. The decision has been taken to disclose the following.
Request
Please may you provide me with:
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.
Answer
The request refers to the England and Wales legislation. PSNI have provided the number of arrests for offences under the relevant NI legislation; Article 3(1)(a)(ii) and (iii) of the Malicious Communications Act 1988 were repealed on 31.1.2024 by the Online safety Act 2023. Please see below:
| Number of arrests1 under Section 127 Communications Act and Article 32 Malicious Communications Act in Northern Ireland (1 January 2017 – 31 August 2025) | |
|---|---|
| Year | Number |
| 2017 | 270 |
| 2018 | 283 |
| 2019 | 328 |
| 2020 | 436 |
| 2021 | 583 |
| 2022 | 731 |
| 2023 | 828 |
| 2024 | 505 |
| 2025 (Jan - Aug) | 283 |
1 Arrested and processed through police custody
2 Article 3(1)(a)(ii) and (iii) of the Malicious Communications Act 1988 were repealed on 31.1.2024 by the Online safety Act 2023