Stop search 12 month overview report September 2023 to August 2024

Type of Stop and Search

Police officers must have a good reason for stopping and searching someone, therefore they are required to record the grounds for the stop and search in full to ensure that it stands up to both internal and external scrutiny.

Police can stop and search someone if
- They think someone is carrying a weapon, drugs, stolen property or offensive items to commit criminal damage
- There has been serious violence or disorder in the vicinity
- It is part of anti-terrorism efforts

65.3% of all stop searches in the last 12 months were drugs related. A further 14.4% of stop and searches were on suspicion that the person was carrying a weapon. Ongoing monitoring of this data allows the Constabulary to better understand how stop and search activity aligns with local and force priorities.

Demographics

Police officers should record the gender, age and ethnicity of every person who is stopped and searched. This information is key to being able to monitor disproportionality and to take appropriate action where necessary.

The Constabulary has historically used census information to better understand if any groups are disproportionately represented. However, a new approach has been recently adopted whereby the profile of people stopped and searched is also compared to the profile of suspects on crimes committed in our force area; this is likely to be a better representation of the people who come into contact with the police.

Find rates

In 34% of stop and searches over the last 12 months, the articles found by officers were linked to the reason for the search. A further 5.2% of search and searches resulted in other unrelated articles being found; however in 61% of cases nothing was found. 

Data published monthly allows the Constabulary to monitor how find rates vary across the different types of searches. The collection of demographic data further enables the Constabulary to monitor the extent to which find rates vary between people from different ethnic groups, highlighting potential areas of disproportionality.

Outcomes

19% of stop and searches in the last 12 months led to a positive outcome: this included 576 arrests (both related and unrelated to the stop) and 228 community resolutions. 

However, 58% led to no further action being taken. Work to better understand this is ongoing.