How arrests on Black Eye Friday compare to numbers over other days in festive period
While it is the busiest day in December for police forces overall, many report a quieter day on Black Eye Friday compared to New Year’s Day.
Last year, Black Eye Friday fell on December 22, with police forces in England, Wales and Northern Ireland making a total of 3,300 arrests.
Black Eye Friday only topped the December list by a small margin, with the next highest number of arrests being just 61 fewer on Wednesday, December 20.
Interestingly, only five police forces reported their highest number of arrests outside of New Year on Black Eye Friday – these were Cambridgeshire Constabulary, City of London Police, Cumbria Constabulary, and Lancashire Constabulary.
Despite the reputation of Black Eye Friday, it didn’t rank among the top days for arrests last year for many police forces covering large urban centres.
For instance, Greater Manchester Police made 204 arrests on December 22, placing it only 21st in terms of busiest days for the force that month. The busiest day was Wednesday 13 with 251 arrests. Merseyside Police arrested 83 people on December 22, making it their 16th busiest day that month.
New Year’s Day topped the list with 115 arrests, followed by Wednesday December 27 with 100. The Met Police detained 341 individuals on Black Eye Friday, ranking it as their 10th busiest day of the year.