Operation of police powers under the Terrorism Act 2000 and subsequent legislation: arrests, outcomes and stops and searches, quarterly update to 30 September 2013, Great Britain

Question 1

1. Summary points

Accepted Answer

1.1 Arrests and outcomes

In the year ending 30 September 2013:

There were 257 persons arrested for terrorism-related offences, up from 244 in the previous year.

Forty-seven per cent of terrorism arrests resulted in a charge, an increase of 4 percentage points on the previous year.

Of the charges brought during the year, 40% were terrorism-related.

At the time of data provision for this release (21 January 2014), 28 of the 48 persons charged with terrorism-related offences were proceeded against. Of these, 25 persons had been convicted of an offence.

1.2 Court proceedings

Data provided by the Crown Prosecution Service show that 39 of the 42 trials completed during the year for terrorism-related offences resulted in convictions.

Thirty-eight of the 39 defendants convicted were sentenced to immediate prison custody, 1 of whom received a life sentence. The remaining defendant received a hospital order.

1.3 Terrorist and extremist prisoners

As at 30 September 2013, 120 persons were in prison custody in Great Britain for terrorism-related offences, 79% of whom were UK nationals. Twenty-six prisoners were classified as domestic extremists/separatists.

Fifty-three prisoners were released during the year ending 30 September 2013.

1.4 Stops and searches

No searches were made by the police in Great Britain under section 47A of the Terrorism Act 2000 (TACT) in the year ending 30 September 2013. To date, no searches have been made in Great Britain under this power.

A total of 49,748 persons were stopped at ports in Great Britain under Schedule 7 of TACT, a fall of 19% on the previous year. In total, 623 persons were detained after a Schedule 7 examination in the year ending 30 September 2013.

The Metropolitan Police Service stopped and searched 457 persons under section 43 (s43) of TACT. This represents a 37% fall on the previous year’s total of 721. The arrest rate for s43 searches was 7%, up 2 percentage points on the previous year.

Question 2

2. Arrests and outcomes

Accepted Answer

2.1 Introduction

Statistics are presented here on the number of persons arrested by police in Great Britain, where there is suspicion of involvement with terrorism. Outcomes of these arrests are also included up to the stage of prosecution, release, or other outcome. The information presented here was provided by the Association of Chief Police Officers’ Counter Terrorism Coordination Centre (ACTCC), based on the latest position with each case at the date of data provision (21 January 2014) and covers the period up to 30 September 2013.

2.2 Arrests

The relatively small numbers of persons arrested for terrorism-related offences each year mean that proportionally large fluctuations in arrests can result from particular police operations, or individual cases involving multiple suspects.

There were 257 persons arrested for terrorism-related offences in the year ending 30 September 2013, an increase of 5% on the previous year.

Terrorism-related arrests can be made under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE), Scottish Common Law, or under section 41 (s41) of the Terrorism Act (TACT) if arresting officers require additional powers of detention or need to arrest a person suspected of terrorism-related activity without a warrant. The decision on whether to arrest a person suspected of terrorism-related activity under s41 of TACT or PACE is an operational decision for the police.

In recent years, the proportion of all terrorism-related arrests made under s41 of TACT has fallen. This trend continues in the year ending 30 September 2013, where the proportion was 13% compared to 21% in the previous year. Since September 2001 the proportion of arrests under s41 TACT was 65%.

Over the last two years there was an average of 11 arrests under s41 TACT per quarter, compared with 52 arrests under PACE per quarter. Since 11 September 2001, when the current data collection was set up by ACTCC, there have been 2,547 terrorism arrests in total.

Persons arrested under section 41 of the Terrorism Act 2000 or under PACE or other legislation

Source: Home Office, Data table A.01.

2.3 Pre-charge detention under section 41 of the Terrorism Act 2000

Pre-charge detention assists the police in the investigation and accumulation of evidence pertaining to potential terrorism offences. Currently the maximum time a terrorism suspect can be held for by police is 14 days (reduced from 28 days in January 2011). Further information on pre-charge detention powers is given in the user guide.

Most detainees continue to spend a short time in police custody prior to charge, release or other outcome. In the year ending 30 September 2013, all detainees were dealt with within 8 days (out of 14 days detention available under terrorism legislation), with 41% detained for less than a day.

2.4 Charges and charging rates

Of the 257 persons arrested for terrorism-related offences in the year ending 30 September 2013, 121 (47%) were charged, a further 97 (38%) were released without charge and 39 (15%) had alternative action taken against them (mainly bailed to return pending further investigation). This compares to 38% charged, 53% released without charge and 9% with alternative action taken since 11 September 2001.

Number of charges resulting from terrorism-related arrests.

Source: Home Office, Data table A.04.

Often, terrorism-related arrests can result in charges for non-terrorism-related offences as the police investigate cases and new information comes to light.

Of the 121 charges brought in the year ending 30 September 2013, 48 (40%) were terrorism-related, comprising 20 under TACT legislation, a further 12 specifically under Schedule 7 of TACT for failure to comply with border controls and 16 for terrorism-related offences under other legislation. The remaining 73 charges (60%) were for other non terrorism-related offences.

For the 967 charges since 11 September 2001 the breakdown of charges was: 357 (37%) under TACT; 74 (8%) under Schedule 7 of TACT; 154 (16%) for terrorism-related offences under other legislation and the remaining 382 (40%) for other non terrorism-related offences.

2.5 Charges by offence

In line with the normal procedures for criminal justice statistics, each suspect has been classified in terms of a single principal offence. This means that where an individual has been charged with a number of offences they are recorded only against the most serious one.

For the 431 persons charged under terrorism legislation since 11 September 2001 the main principal charges related to:

possession of an article for terrorist purposes (17% of such charges)
failing to comply with duty at a port or border controls (17%)
preparation for terrorist acts (15%)
collection of information useful for an act of terrorism (10%)
fundraising (9%)
membership of a proscribed organisation (7%)

For the 154 persons charged under non-terrorism legislation where the offence was considered terrorism-related, the most prevalent principal charges were:

conspiracy to commit murder (22%)
offences under the Explosive Substances Act 1883 (16%)
offences under the Fraud Act 2006 (6%)
soliciting to commit murder (5%)
conspiracy to commit armed robbery (5%)
offences under the Firearms Act 1968 (5%)

In addition to the above charges, a total of 382 persons have been charged with offences identified by ACTCC to be not terrorism-related. The most frequent principal charges were for:

Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981 (10%)
Fraud Act 2006 (8%)
Theft Acts 1968 and 1978 (8%)
Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (7%)
Firearms Act 1968 (6%)

2.6 Court proceedings and outcomes of charges

This section considers the outcomes for persons charged, based on year of arrest. Due to the complex nature of terrorism investigations, trials may take place several years after an arrest or charge takes place. Trials in the year ending 30 September 2013 can, therefore, relate to arrests made in earlier years.

At the time of data provision for this release (21 January 2014), 28 of the 48 persons arrested and charged in the year ending 30 September 2013 with terrorism-related offences were proceeded against. Of these, 25 people were convicted and 3 were found not guilty. Of the 25 convicted, 7 were for offences under terrorism legislation and 18 were under non-terrorism legislation. As for previous years, it is expected that the number of convictions will change due to a number of persons awaiting prosecution at the time of data reporting for this release.

Since 11 September 2001, 489 of the 585 persons charged with terrorism-related offences were prosecuted. Of these, 210 were convicted under terrorism legislation and a further 175 were convicted of non-TACT offences. In total, 66% of persons charged with terrorism-related offences have been convicted since 11 September 2001; however, again, this rate is likely to change depending on the outcome of cases for those awaiting prosecution.

Number of persons				Great Britain
	Total year ending
Charge and outcome	30 Sep 2012	30 Sep 2013	Change⁴	Total since 11 Sep 2001
Charged	51	48	-3	585
of which:
Not proceeded against	3	-	-3	72
Awaiting prosecution	3	19	16	22
Other outcome	-	1	1	2
Prosecuted	45	28	-17	489
Convicted⁵	43	25	-18	385
TACT offences	29	4	-25	183
Schedule 7 TACT	3	3	-	27
Other legislation (non-TACT): terrorism related	3	11	8	138
Other legislation (non-TACT): non-terrorism related	8	7	-1	37
Found not guilty	2	3	1	104

Source: ACPO Counter Terrorism Coordination Centre (ACTCC).

Since 11 September 2001. Data presented here are based on the latest position with each case as at the date of data provision from ACTCC (21 January 2014)
Includes all charges under terrorism legislation and under other legislation where considered by ACTCC to be terrorism-related
Refers to the substantive charge at indictment recorded by the Crown Prosecution Service
Difference in numbers between the totals for the 12 months ending 30 September 2012 and 30 September 2013
Excludes cases when a conviction was latyer quashed on appeal

Source: Home Office, Data table A.06c.

2.7 Persons convicted by offence

The most frequent principal offences for persons convicted since 11 September 2001 under terrorism legislation were:

preparation for terrorist acts (25% of persons convicted)
collection of information useful for a terrorism act (16%)
failing to comply with duty at a port or border controls (13%)
possession of an article for terrorist purposes (9%)

The main principal convictions under non-terrorism legislation which were considered terrorism-related were:

offences under the Explosive Substances Act 1883 (19% of persons convicted)
conspiracy to murder (12%)
offences under the Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981 (11%)
Firearms Act 1968 offences (9%)

Details of terrorism arrests that subsequently resulted in a non-terrorism-related charge or conviction can be found in Tables A.07 and A.08c.

2.8 Gender, age and ethnic appearance of persons arrested, charged and convicted

Of the persons arrested for terrorism-related offences since 11 September 2001, 93% were male. This is similarly reflected in terrorism-related charges and convictions, with males making up 94% and 95% of the totals for each respectively. Full breakdowns can be found in Table A.09.

Since 11 September 2001, the age group with the highest proportion of persons arrested, charged, and convicted for a terrorism-related offence was the 30 and over age group, comprising 47% of persons arrested, 43% of persons charged and 42% of persons convicted. Full breakdowns can be found in Table A.10.

More than a third (36%) of all persons arrested since 11 September 2001 were recorded by police as being of Asian ethnic appearance. Proportions for other recorded ethnicities at arrest were: 30% White, 21% Chinese or Other and 12% Black. Similar proportions were seen at charge and conviction. Full breakdowns can be found in Table A.11.

2.9 Nationality of persons arrested, charged and convicted

Of the 2,547 persons arrested for terrorism-related offences since 11 September 2001, 1,288 (51%) self-declared their nationality as British or of British dual nationality. Of the remaining persons arrested, the most frequently self-declared nationalities (excluding those who declared a dual nationality) were: Algeria (155 persons), Pakistan (132 persons), Iraq (115 persons), Afghanistan (74 persons), Iran (63 persons), India (58 persons), Turkey (48 persons) and Somalia (47 persons).

Full breakdowns for all nationalities self-declared at arrest can be found in Table A.12a. Data on charges and convictions for terrorism-related offences broken down by their self-declared nationality at the time of arrest are in Tables A.12b and A.12c.

2.10 Categorisation of persons arrested and charged

Data on the categorisation of those arrested and charged are published in this bulletin. The categories are based on involvement with any type of terrorism and separately identify those associated with domestic, international and Northern Ireland Related Terrorism (NIRT). The data also include persons found not to be associated with any type of terrorism at the time of arrest or charge (which could include airport travellers charged for failing to comply with an examination under Schedule 7 of TACT, then found to have no terrorist links after investigation).

Of those arrested since 11 September 2001, 79% were classified as international with 10% classified as domestic and 7% classified as associated with NIRT. Full breakdowns of classifications of those arrested, charged and convicted can be found in Table A.13.

2.11 Data tables

Data on persons arrested for terrorism-related offences, and the resulting charges and other outcomes, can be found in Tables A.01 to A.13.

2.12 Data quality and interpreting the figures

The relatively small numbers of persons arrested for terrorism-related offences each year mean that proportionally large fluctuations in arrests can result from particular police operations, or individual cases involving multiple suspects. This should be borne in mind when interpreting trends over time.

In line with the normal procedures for criminal justice statistics, and in order to present an accurate count of the number of persons arrested and charged, data in this part (arrests and outcomes) are presented on a principal offence basis. This means that, when a person is arrested or charged for multiple offences at the same time, the most serious offence is the one counted in these data. If a person arrested or charged is subsequently arrested on another occasion for a different offence, the additional arrest will also be counted in the data.

Due to the complex nature of terrorism investigations, a trial may take place several years after an arrest or charge takes place. Trials completed in 2013 can relate to arrests made in 2012 or earlier. Since the data on arrests and outcomes presented here are based on time of arrest and court proceedings data presented in part 3 are based on time of trial outcome, data drawn from both may not be directly comparable.

The data presented are based on the position as at 21 January 2014, when case information was provided to the Home Office by ACTCC. As cases progress over time, outcomes can change and therefore figures for quarters previously published may be updated in this release.

ACTCC regularly review their cases to ensure that records are up-to-date, which can result in records being added, removed or reclassified. The most notable recent review is the reclassification of a number of arrests made in Scotland at border controls which had been recorded as Non-terrorism related. Prior to this release, these cases were reviewed to determine their most appropriate classification. As a result, a number of charges have been re-classified from ‘Non-terrorism-related’ to ‘Schedule 7 (TACT)’.

Figures on the self-declared nationalities of persons arrested for terrorism-related offences are presented in section 2.9. These self-declared nationalities may differ from the actual nationalities of persons arrested; this must be borne in mind when interpreting the figures.

Categories of persons presented in section 2.10 are based on assessment by ACTCC and may not be mutually exclusive in all cases. Additionally, the categories may change as further information on each case comes to light as they progress. Full definitions of these categories can be found in the user guide.

Question 3

3. Court proceedings

Accepted Answer

3.1 Introduction

Statistics are presented here on the number of defendants tried by the Crown Prosecution Service Counter Terrorism Division (CPS CTD) in the year ending 30 September 2013. Data shown here are based on final outcomes for each defendant (i.e. when all proceedings in each case are concluded), and are presented on the principal, or most serious, offence basis. Results of partially completed trials are not included.

3.2 Defendant trials

Due to the complex nature of terrorism investigations, trials may take place several years after an arrest or charge takes place. Trials completed in the year ending 30 September 2013 can relate to arrests made in earlier years.

In the year ending 30 September 2013, trials for 36 persons were completed by the CPS CTD for offences under terrorism legislation, with 33 resulting in conviction. Trials were for a variety of offences including preparation for terrorism acts (24 persons tried, 23 convicted) and collection of information for terrorists (6 tried and convicted. Additionally in the year ending 30 September 2013, trials for 6 persons were completed for terrorism-related offences under non-terrorism legislation. This total included 3 trials under the Criminal Law Act 1977, 2 trials under the Firearms Act and 1 trial under the Explosive Substances Act 1883. All of these 6 trials ended in a conviction.

A full breakdown of the trials and convictions broken down by offence, including data for the previous year, can be seen in the data tables.

3.3 Sentencing

In the year ending 30 September 2013, 33 defendants were convicted under terrorism legislation and 6 were convicted under non-terrorism legislation.

Each of the 33 defendants convicted under terrorism legislation in the year ending 30 September 2013 received custodial sentences. Sentences handed down included 1 life sentence and 13 sentences of over 10 years. Five of the 6 defendants convicted under non-terrorism legislation received custodial sentences, including 2 sentences of between 4 and 10 years and 3 sentences of less than 4 years. The remaining person was sentenced to a hospital order.

Of all 39 persons convicted in the year ending 30 September 2013, 33 had pleaded guilty, with the other 6 defendants pleading not guilty.

3.4 Data tables

Data on court proceedings dealt with by CPS CTD can be found in Tables C.01-C.04.

3.5 Data quality and interpreting the figures

In line with the normal procedures for criminal justice statistics, and in order to present an accurate count of the number of persons dealt with by CPS CTD, data in part 3 (court proceedings) are presented on a principal offence basis. This means that, when a person is proceeded against for multiple offences at the same time, the most serious offence is the one counted in these data. If a person is subsequently proceeded against on another occasion for a different offence, the additional case will also be included in the dataset.

Due to the complex nature of terrorism investigations, trials may take place several years after an arrest or charge takes place. Trials completed in 2013 can relate to arrests made in 2012 or earlier. Since the approach used in part 2 (arrests and outcomes) is based on time of arrest and the approach used here is based on time of trial outcome, data drawn from both may not be directly comparable.

Question 4

4. Terrorist and extremist prisoners

Accepted Answer

4.1 Introduction

Data presented here are provided by the National Offender Management Service and Scottish Prison Service, and show the number of persons who were in prison custody for terrorism-related offences and the number of domestic extremist prisoners in Great Britain as at 30 September 2013. Data on prisoners released in the year ending 30 September 2013 are also included.

4.2 Key facts

As at 30 September 2013, there were 120 terrorist/extremist prisoners in Great Britain, either on remand or following conviction. In total 94 prisoners were in custody for terrorism-related offences, of whom 58 were in custody for offences under terrorism legislation, 34 for terrorism-related offences not under terrorism legislation and a further 2 were held awaiting deportation. Twenty-six prisoners were classified as domestic extremists/separatists, 17 of whom were in custody following conviction, with 6 on remand and 3 extradition cases. No Northern Ireland Related Terrorist (NIRT) prisoners were in custody in Great Britain as at 30 September 2013.

Sixty-two of the 120 prisoners in Great Britain remanded or convicted for terrorism-related offences defined themselves as of Asian ethnic origin at the time of reception into custody. Additionally, 30 persons defined themselves as White and 16 defined themselves as Black.

Terrorist/extremist prison population as at 30 September 2013

Source: Home Office, Data table P.01.

The nationalities of the 120 terrorist/extremist prisoners in Great Britain were spread over 15 countries. Ninety-five were recorded as being UK nationals, 9 were Asian (consisting of 5 from Bangladesh, 3 from Pakistan and 1 from Vietnam), 7 were African (2 from Somalia, 2 from Morocco and 1 each from Ethiopia, Ghana and Kenya), 5 were non-UK Europeans and 2 were from the Middle East. The nationality of the remaining 2 prisoners was unrecorded.

In terms of the self-declared religions of the 94 terrorism legislation or terrorism-related prisoners, 91 defined themselves as Muslim. For the 26 domestic extremists/separatists the picture was more mixed, with 13 declaring no religion and the remaining persons declaring a range of other religions including Roman Catholic (3), Anglican (3), Muslim (3), other Christian (1) and other religious groups (3).

A total of 40 terrorist/extremist prisoners were released in England and Wales in the year ending 30 September 2013 on completion of a custodial sentence. Of these, 1 had been serving a life sentence, 18 had served sentences of 4 years or more and the remaining 21 were released after serving sentences of less than 4 years. Additionally, 13 prisoners held on remand or as non-criminal prisoners were released from custody.

4.3 Data tables

Data on persons in prison custody can be found in Tables P.01 to P.05.

4.4 Data quality and interpreting the figures

Data presented here on terrorist and extremist prisoners include persons held on remand as well as those held after conviction and/or sentencing.

Question 5

5. Stops and searches

Accepted Answer

5.1 Introduction

Statistics are presented here on the use of certain stop and search procedures available to police under the Terrorism Act 2000 (TACT).

Section 47A (s47A) of TACT allows the police to stop and search persons in order to prevent acts of terrorism, without reasonable suspicion of their involvement in terrorism. Searches under this power may only be authorised in a specific area for a defined period where the police reasonably suspect an act of terrorism will take place. On 18 March 2011, s47A stop and search powers formally replaced stop and search powers under section 44 of TACT. There has, as yet, been no use of stop and search powers under s47A in Great Britain.

Also available to the police are powers of stop and search under section 43 (s43) of TACT, where an officer does not need an authorisation as under s47A, but instead must have reasonable suspicion that the person is involved in terrorism-related activity. Data on searches under these powers presented here cover the Metropolitan Police Service area only.

Also included here are data on examinations made at ports under Schedule 7 of TACT. Information on the legislative background to these powers and the others covered in this section can be found in the user guide.

5.2 Stops and searches under section 43 of the Terrorism Act 2000

The Terrorism Act 2000 (TACT) also gives powers to individual officers to stop and search a suspect whom they must reasonably suspect is involved in terrorism activity under s43 of the Act. These powers, unlike those under s44/47A, do not require any authorisations from senior police officers, or the Home Secretary.

Information collected from the Metropolitan Police Service shows that in the year ending 30 September 2013, 457 persons were stopped and searched under s43 of TACT. This represents a 37% fall on the previous year’s total of 721. The arrest rate for s43 searches was 6.6% in the year ending 30 September 2013, up 2 percentage points on the previous year.

Summary of stops and searches and resultant arrests made under section 43 of the Terrorism Act 2000

Source: Home Office, Data table S.01.

Of those stopped and searched under s43 of TACT, the proportion who defined themselves as White fell from 40% in the year ending 30 September 2012 to 35% in the year ending 30 September 2013; the proportion who defined themselves as Asian also fell over the same period, from 34% to 31%. For those who defined themselves as Black at the time of search, the proportion rose from 11% to 14%, and the proportion who defined themselves as Chinese or Other rose from 5% to 9%. Lastly, for those defined as Mixed, the proportion rose from 2% to 3%.

5.3 Examinations under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000

Under Schedule 7 of TACT individual examining officers can examine a person at a port area who is entering or leaving, or travelling by aircraft within, Great Britain. Depending on individual circumstances, an examination may consist of basic questioning, a search of property and/or a period of detention of up to 9 hours while investigations take place.

A total of 49,748 persons were stopped at ports in the year ending 30 September 2013 in Great Britain under this power, a fall of 19% on the previous year. Of these, 47,610 (96%) were held for under an hour with the remaining persons held for over an hour. The proportion of persons detained for under an hour fell by 1 percentage point over the two years.

Of those examined in the year ending 30 September 2013, a relatively high proportion of persons did not self-define their ethnicity at the time of search (8%); therefore proportions by ethnicity presented here exclude these persons. Of those that did self-define, 44% were White, 23% were Asian, 19% were Chinese or Other, 9% were Black and 5% were of Mixed ethnicity. Proportions who self-defined by ethnicity were similar to the previous year, although there was a fall of 4 percentage points for persons who self-defined as Asian in the year ending 30 September 2013.

In total, 623 persons were detained after a Schedule 7 examination in the year ending 30 September 2013, up 15% from 541 in the previous year. Excluding persons who did not self-define their ethnicity, the largest proportion of those detained self-defined their ethnicity as Asian (37%) followed by Chinese or Other (28%) and then Black (18%). Proportions of those detained who were White and Mixed were lower, at 12% and 5% respectively. The most notable changes in proportions in the years ending 30 September 2012 and 30 September 2013 were those detainees self-defining as Black (down 11 percentage points) and Chinese or Other (up 9 percentage points).

The total number of Schedule 7 examinations can be seen in the context of 109.9 million arrivals in the UK in the year ending 30 September 2013. Assuming a similar number of departures through UK ports, this gives a proportion of approximately 0.02% (or 2 persons searched out of every 10,000 persons passing through UK ports in the year ending 30 September 2013).

Question 6

6. Revisions analysis

Accepted Answer

The table below compares data on arrests and outcomes in the year ending 30 September 2012 published in this release, with data for the same period published in the March 2013 release (the relevant data can be found in Tables A.03/A.06c in this release and Tables A.04 and A.07 in the March 2013 release).

As data for this chapter are drawn from a live system, most of the differences are a result of case progression between the two releases. For example, persons bailed to return pending further investigation (included in the ‘alternative action’ figure below) and those awaiting trial show big falls between the releases due to completion of investigations/trials, which in turn, result in increases in persons released without charge, as well as convictions and other court outcomes.

6.1 Table 1 Arrests and outcomes in the year ending 30 September 2012

Number of persons		Great Britain
Charge and outcome	Published Mar 2013	Published Mar 2014
Arrests	245	244
Charged	94	104
Released without being charged	101	124
Alternative action	50	16
Breakdown of terrorism-related charges
Charged	45	51
of which:
Not proceeded against	1	3
Awaiting prosecution	25	3
Other outcome	-	-
Prosecuted	19	45
Convicted	18	43
TACT offences	8	29
Schedule 7 TACT	2	3
Other legislation (non-TACT): terrorism-related	8	11
Found not guilty	1	2

Source: Tables A.03 and A.06c (March 2014 release), Tables A.04 and A.07 (March 2013 release).

Revisions analysis for the court proceedings, terrorist and extremist prisoners and stops and searches chapters are not presented because no revisions to data were made between releases.

Cookies on GOV.UK