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Stop and Search

Stop and search is a hugely important police power for protecting the public, tackling crime and keeping our streets safe.

Stop and search should never be used lightly. Police officers must only use their legal right to stop members of the public, and search them, when doing so will further their investigations into criminal activity. Some examples could be looking for weapons, drugs or stolen property.

By allowing officers to investigate an individual without having to arrest them, it can avoid unnecessary arrests.

A stop and search is when a police officer stops you in a public place and searches you, your clothes and anything you might be carrying.

You might be stopped as you walk down the road or if you are in a vehicle. Police use stop and search to help catch criminals, to solve crimes, to stop crimes from happening and keep the area where you live safe.

You will only be stopped if an officer suspects you are carrying something illegal or something that could be used in crime. This will be explained in the grounds for the search. You will not be stopped and searched just because of your age, race, hairstyle or how you dress.

Police officers need to have a good reason to stop and search you, such as:

  • They are looking for a suspect who fits your description
  • They suspect you are carrying something that could be used to carry out certain crime or cause vandalism
  • They suspect you are carrying a weapon, drugs or a banned item
  • A section 60 order is in place, allowing officers in uniform to search anyone in a particular area without needing the above reasons. These aren’t common and are only in place for short periods of time if a senior officer believes that serious violence may take place or has taken place.

The search is not voluntary. If you do not co-operate the officer can use reasonable force to search you.

You are not under arrest, but you must stay with the officer until the search is complete.

If you are stopped, the officer may ask you a few questions. The process may take a little time but will be handled quickly and professionally.

If the officer is wearing a video camera, they’ll record the encounter.

If you are in a public place, the officer can only ask you to take off your coat, jacket or gloves.

If a more thorough search is necessary, this should be done out of public view, which could be at a nearby police station, and by an officer of the same gender as you.

The officer must tell you:

  • Their name, shoulder number and where they work
  • Why they are stopping you and the legal power they are using
  • What they are looking for
  • If they aren’t in uniform, they must show you their warrant card.

Our use of stop and search powers is scrutinised at all levels of the organisation to ensure that officers fully understand their powers and are exercising these fairly and appropriately.

Supervisors will conduct checks of stop and search interactions carried out by their team and each Local Command Unit (LCU) has a dedicated Inspector responsible for reviewing the use of stop and search in that area. Any complaints relating to stop and search are dealt with by our Professional Standards Department (PSD).

The datasets below are discussed at quarterly meetings chaired by senior officers to understand how we are using the power and to ensure stop and search is used in the right places, at the right times, for the right reasons.

The views of our communities are incredibly important, particularly around stop and search. We recognise that many people have concerns about whether policing powers are used fairly.  Each of our LCUs run regular community scrutiny panels across the force where independent volunteers from the public, review stop and search interactions filmed on officer’s body worn cameras. You can find out more about these panels and how to join one on our Insight and Scrutiny page.

Thames Valley Police is actively working to make all of our documents accessible - any information and data contained in these documents can be made available in an accessible format. Please contact us if this is required.

Stop and Search Quarterly Data

Quarter 1

 

Quarter 2

 

Quarter 3 (by LCU)

Quarter 4 (by LCU)