Published stop and search
Stop and search statistics
Published stop and search records from data.police.uk, summarised for the selected period and police force. This is a count of published records, not a judgement of whether searches were justified.
December 2013 to August 20265057840
Stop and search records
899132
Searches with a recorded find
17.8%
Recorded find rate
44
Police forces in view
What this page shows and how these figures are calculated
What this page shows
This page summarises the stop and search records currently loaded into CrimeMapsUK for the selected time period and police-force filter.
- Coverage period
- December 2013 to August 2026
- Months included
- 153
- Police force filter
- All police forces
- Latest loaded month
- August 2026
A recorded find is derived from the published stop and search outcome labels held in this dataset. It does not show whether a search was justified, proportionate, or effective. Unless you change the filters, the default view is the latest loaded month.
Read the methodology. Related: How to use the dashboards, FAQ, What is a stop and search record?.
How these figures are calculated
- Stop and search records
- All loaded stop and search records in the selected time period and police-force filter.
- Searches with a recorded find
- Records marked by this dataset as having a find based on the published stop and search outcome.
- Recorded find rate
- The share of loaded stop and search records treated as a recorded find in this dataset. It does not show whether a search was justified.
- Police forces in view
- The number of police forces represented after the current filters are applied.
Demographic breakdown
Age group distribution
View data table
| Age group | Records | Searches with a recorded find | Recorded find rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-17 | 841619 | 106285 | 12.6% |
| 18-24 | 1481660 | 288064 | 19.4% |
| 25-34 | 1078124 | 227504 | 21.1% |
| over 34 | 1061118 | 205822 | 19.4% |
| Unknown | 592241 | 71072 | 12.0% |
| under 10 | 3078 | 385 | 12.5% |
Gender split
View data table
| Gender | Records | Searches with a recorded find | Recorded find rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Other | 55910 | 5852 | 10.5% |
| Unknown | 331279 | 49742 | 15.0% |
| Male | 4198681 | 768400 | 18.3% |
| Female | 471970 | 75138 | 15.9% |
By police force
Recorded find rate by police force
View data table
| Police force | Records | Searches with a recorded find | Recorded find rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nottinghamshire | 38632 | 9518 | 24.6% |
| Cambridgeshire | 25821 | 5843 | 22.6% |
| Kent | 122806 | 27461 | 22.4% |
| Humberside | 44043 | 9811 | 22.3% |
| Sussex | 71583 | 15756 | 22.0% |
| Durham | 27385 | 5984 | 21.9% |
| Suffolk | 26578 | 5829 | 21.9% |
| Leicestershire | 42522 | 9249 | 21.8% |
| Essex | 127334 | 26850 | 21.1% |
| Avon And Somerset | 74009 | 15407 | 20.8% |
| West Mercia | 53157 | 10913 | 20.5% |
| South Yorkshire | 108714 | 21925 | 20.2% |
| West Yorkshire | 176627 | 35411 | 20.0% |
| Staffordshire | 53887 | 10667 | 19.8% |
| City Of London | 22813 | 4485 | 19.7% |
| Gloucestershire | 18754 | 3604 | 19.2% |
| Cheshire | 80764 | 15543 | 19.2% |
| Metropolitan | 1955986 | 365160 | 18.7% |
| Devon And Cornwall | 63314 | 11534 | 18.2% |
| Warwickshire | 20143 | 3663 | 18.2% |
| Dyfed Powys | 36444 | 6605 | 18.1% |
| Northumbria | 63862 | 10995 | 17.2% |
| Derbyshire | 29615 | 4973 | 16.8% |
| West Midlands | 256656 | 42718 | 16.6% |
| Bedfordshire | 33106 | 5466 | 16.5% |
| Surrey | 70766 | 11688 | 16.5% |
| Norfolk | 34524 | 5679 | 16.4% |
| North Wales | 29013 | 4755 | 16.4% |
| South Wales | 87815 | 14312 | 16.3% |
| Wiltshire | 19091 | 3094 | 16.2% |
| Hertfordshire | 77915 | 12653 | 16.2% |
| Btp | 104800 | 16987 | 16.2% |
| Cumbria | 47988 | 7707 | 16.1% |
| Hampshire | 138864 | 22342 | 16.1% |
| Northamptonshire | 28255 | 4244 | 15.0% |
| Merseyside | 420018 | 59014 | 14.1% |
| Thames Valley | 129211 | 17649 | 13.7% |
| Cleveland | 47256 | 6417 | 13.6% |
| Lancashire | 125203 | 16897 | 13.5% |
| North Yorkshire | 20638 | 2430 | 11.8% |
| Dorset | 27037 | 2840 | 10.5% |
| Greater Manchester | 19204 | 1861 | 9.7% |
| Lincolnshire | 32446 | 2798 | 8.6% |
| Gwent | 23241 | 395 | 1.7% |
Search powers and legislation
Recorded find rate by search type
View data table
| Search type | Records | Searches with a recorded find | Recorded find rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Person and Vehicle search | 951485 | 219392 | 23.1% |
| Vehicle search | 136963 | 27909 | 20.4% |
| Person search | 3969392 | 651831 | 16.4% |
Top legislation used
Chart labels use short legislation names; hover or open the table for the full wording.
View data table
| Legislation | Records | Searches with a recorded find | Recorded find rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (section 23) | 3037387 | 566315 | 18.6% |
| Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (section 1) | 1701783 | 297159 | 17.5% |
| Unknown | 206111 | 22671 | 11.0% |
| Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 (section 60) | 57489 | 4464 | 7.8% |
| Firearms Act 1968 (section 47) | 37550 | 6688 | 17.8% |
| Criminal Justice Act 1988 (section 139B) | 9491 | 584 | 6.2% |
| Psychoactive Substances Act 2016 (s36(2)) | 3606 | 615 | 17.1% |
| Poaching Prevention Act 1862 (section 2) | 2303 | 338 | 14.7% |
| Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 (section 163) | 477 | 34 | 7.1% |
| Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (section 6) | 361 | 115 | 31.9% |
| Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (section 19) | 357 | 32 | 9.0% |
| Aviation Security Act 1982 (section 27(1)) | 314 | 23 | 7.3% |
| Psychoactive Substances Act 2016 (s37(2)) | 143 | 14 | 9.8% |
| Deer Act 1991 (section 12) | 89 | 25 | 28.1% |
| Crossbows Act 1987 (section 4) | 74 | 7 | 9.5% |
Legislation outcome tables
Drugs Act 1971 s.23
Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (section 23)
| Outcome | Count |
|---|---|
| A no further action disposal | 1748931 |
| Nothing found - no further action | 341408 |
| Arrest | 298297 |
| Community resolution | 268961 |
| Suspect arrested | 72845 |
PACE 1984 s.1
Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (section 1)
| Outcome | Count |
|---|---|
| A no further action disposal | 1025903 |
| Arrest | 246846 |
| Nothing found - no further action | 221292 |
| Suspect arrested | 67590 |
| Community resolution | 51923 |
Unknown
| Outcome | Count |
|---|---|
| A no further action disposal | 80269 |
| Unknown | 50773 |
| Nothing found - no further action | 35102 |
| Arrest | 13055 |
| Suspect arrested | 6928 |
CJPOA 1994 s.60
Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 (section 60)
| Outcome | Count |
|---|---|
| A no further action disposal | 48716 |
| Nothing found - no further action | 2690 |
| Arrest | 2361 |
| Community resolution | 1846 |
| Penalty Notice for Disorder | 409 |
Firearms Act 1968 s.47
Firearms Act 1968 (section 47)
| Outcome | Count |
|---|---|
| A no further action disposal | 20898 |
| Nothing found - no further action | 6498 |
| Arrest | 5949 |
| Suspect arrested | 1994 |
| Unknown | 695 |
Published outcomes
Outcome distribution
View data table
| Published outcome | Records |
|---|---|
| A no further action disposal | 2930976 |
| Nothing found - no further action | 613284 |
| Arrest | 567625 |
| Community resolution | 330021 |
| Suspect arrested | 151338 |
| Unknown | 143983 |
| Summons / charged by post | 74477 |
| Offender given drugs possession warning | 61032 |
| Penalty Notice for Disorder | 54011 |
| Khat or Cannabis warning | 46557 |
| Article found - Detailed outcome unavailable | 17989 |
| Local resolution | 17718 |
| Caution (simple or conditional) | 17355 |
| Offender given penalty notice | 13396 |
| Suspect summonsed to court | 13315 |
| Offender cautioned | 4748 |
| Suspected psychoactive substances seized - No further action | 15 |
Search objects (top 10)
View data table
| Search object | Records | Searches with a recorded find | Recorded find rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Controlled drugs | 2836307 | 533572 | 18.8% |
| Offensive weapons | 587201 | 105039 | 17.9% |
| Stolen goods | 475055 | 108078 | 22.8% |
| Unknown | 463450 | 60350 | 13.0% |
| Article for use in theft | 259692 | 39863 | 15.4% |
| Articles for use in criminal damage | 187356 | 12730 | 6.8% |
| Evidence of offences under the Act | 87270 | 17611 | 20.2% |
| Anything to threaten or harm anyone | 83974 | 8700 | 10.4% |
| Firearms | 41955 | 7414 | 17.7% |
| Fireworks | 17023 | 1611 | 9.5% |
Data quality statement:
Data sourced from data.police.uk under the
Open Government Licence v3.0.
Outcome labels come from the published police data source and may change as records are
updated. Find rates are descriptive summaries of the selected records and should not be
treated as a direct measure of policing quality.