Have you ever experienced being stopped and searched by a police officer? What were your initial thoughts when it happened? It’s natural for various questions to cross your mind, like wondering if you’ve broken the law, if you’re a suspect, or if your race played a role in the stop.
In the UK, stop and search powers are tools used by the police to maintain public safety. These powers are often employed to address issues like drug offenses, burglary, theft, and counterterrorism efforts.
Source: The Guardian
In England and Wales, Section 1 stop-and-search powers grant the police the authority to search individuals or their vehicles based on “reasonable grounds” for suspicion of possessing illegal drugs, weapons, stolen items, or potential criminal tools.
Notably, stop and search can also occur without reasonable grounds, but only with approval from a senior police officer, often in cases involving the risk of serious violence, individuals carrying weapons, or specific locations of concern.
According to the recently published national statistics from Home Office:
- In the year ending March 2023, police in England and Wales conducted 547,003 stop and searches, a 3% increase from the previous year.
- Arrests resulting from these searches increased by 10%, with 74,097 arrests in the same period, accounting for 14% of all searches.
- Despite the slight increase, the arrest rate remained below the peak observed in 2017 and 2018.
- In 2022, 63% of stop and searches were of males aged 15-34, although they make up only 13% of the overall population.
- Across England and Wales, there were 677,508 arrests in the year ending March 2023, a 2% increase from the previous year.
- The performance of police forces varied, with 25 out of 42 forces reporting more arrests, and 17 reporting fewer arrests in the same period.
This article will provide a comprehensive analysis of search, stop, and arrest statistics as of the year ending March 2023, focusing on factors such as Ethnicity, Age, and Sex.
Stop, Search and Arrest based on Ethnicity
Arrest rates following stop and search show ethnic disparities, with Black, mixed, and other ethnic groups having a 15% arrest rate, higher than white individuals at 13%, while Asians have the lowest at 12%.
In March 2023, those identifying as Black were searched at a rate 4.1 times higher than White individuals, with similar disparities for Asians, Mixed, and other ethnic groups. This reveals significant differences in search rates among ethnicities. Ethnicity is determined through self-identification and, if not provided, officer observations.
Figure 1: Number of stop and searches by self-defined ethnicity, England and Wales, the year ending March 2023 compared with the year ending March 2022
Source: Home Office
Stop and Search based on Age
In the year ending March 2023, approximately two-thirds (65%) of all stop and searches were conducted on individuals between the ages of 10 and 29, totaling 331,159 out of 509,953 searches.
Among this group, 107,763 were aged 10 to 17 (21% of the total), 157,467 were between 18 and 24 (31% of the total), and 65,929 were aged 25 to 29 (13% of the total). Comparatively, the proportion of individuals aged 10 to 17 and those aged 30 or older has increased in the year ending March 2023 compared to figures from March 2022
Figure 2: Proportion of stop and search by age of person searched and reason for search, year ending March 2023
Source: Home Office
It’s important to mention that the age categories are determined by verifying individuals’ ages during stop and search encounters. In cases where individuals don’t disclose their ages, officers estimate their ages.
Stop and search based on Sex
The data collected by the Home Office for searches conducted up to March 2023 based on an individual’s sex shows that the majority of searches were of males (89%), with females accounting for 11%. A small number of searches were conducted on individuals classified as ‘other’ sex.
The ‘other’ category might include non-binary or transgender individuals, but only 20 out of 44 police forces recorded such searches. The sex of individuals searched varied only slightly based on the reason for the search, with females being more commonly searched in cases related to stolen property (17%) and less commonly in searches under specific legal sections.
Figure 3: Proportion of stop and search by sex of person searched and reason for search, year ending March 2023
Source: Home Office
Reasons behind Stop and Search
In the year ending March 2023, drug possession suspicions continued to be the most common reason for PACE stop and search, constituting 61% of all searches, a slight decrease from the previous year’s 65%. The number of drug-related searches had been steadily increasing from 2018 to 2021 but declined afterward, possibly due to proactive drug searches during COVID-19 lockdowns. Additionally, there were slight increases in searches for stolen property, going equipped for theft, and ‘other’ reasons during the same period.
Table 1: Proportion of PACE stop and searches, England and Wales, years ending March 2020, March 2021, March 2022 and March 2023
Source: Home Office
In the year ending March 2023, most search categories increased in number, except for drug-related searches, which decreased by 3%, and searches under the Terrorism Act, which decreased by 24%. The most significant increase was in searches for ‘other’ reasons, surging by 58% from 8,504 in March 2022 to 13,441 in March 2023.
Additionally, in March 2022, there were 70 searches of individuals under the age of 10, but this number decreased to 64 in March 2023. The age of individuals searched varied depending on the specific reason for the search.
Figure 4: PACE stop and searches by reason for search, England and Wales, the year ending March 2022 compared with the year ending March 2023.
Source: Home Office
Consequences of Stop and Search Incidents
Starting from March 2017, law enforcement agencies have been documenting a broader spectrum of results stemming from stop and search actions. These include but are not limited to arrests, cautions, summons, penalty notices for disorder, warnings related to cannabis or khat, community resolutions, and cases where no further action was taken.
Furthermore, as of March 2021, the Home Office has extended the range of reported outcomes to encompass additional categories such as voluntary attendance, verbal warnings, provision of words of advice, property seizures, guardian interventions, and various other actions.
