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.
July 2015 to August 2026
23332
Stop and search records
2840
Searches with a recorded find
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
- July 2015 to August 2026
- Months included
- 134
- Police force filter
- Dorset
- 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 |
4349 |
365 |
8.4% |
| 18-24 |
6352 |
935 |
14.7% |
| 25-34 |
5290 |
723 |
13.7% |
| over 34 |
7087 |
810 |
11.4% |
| Unknown |
246 |
7 |
2.8% |
| under 10 |
8 |
0 |
0.0% |
Gender split
View data table
| Gender |
Records |
Searches with a recorded find |
Recorded find rate |
| Unknown |
99 |
6 |
6.1% |
| Male |
19743 |
2507 |
12.7% |
| Female |
3490 |
327 |
9.4% |
By police force
Recorded find rate by police force
View data table
| Police force |
Records |
Searches with a recorded find |
Recorded find rate |
| Dorset |
23332 |
2840 |
12.2% |
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 search |
23332 |
2840 |
12.2% |
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) |
14876 |
2032 |
13.7% |
| Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (section 1) |
6661 |
759 |
11.4% |
| Unknown |
1515 |
17 |
1.1% |
| Firearms Act 1968 (section 47) |
145 |
11 |
7.6% |
| Poaching Prevention Act 1862 (section 2) |
53 |
17 |
32.1% |
| Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 (section 60) |
50 |
4 |
8.0% |
| Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (section 19) |
32 |
0 |
0.0% |
Legislation outcome tables
Drugs Act 1971 s.23
Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (section 23)
| Outcome | Count |
|---|
| A no further action disposal |
4682 |
| Unknown |
3605 |
| Nothing found - no further action |
2042 |
| Arrest |
1364 |
| Community resolution |
880 |
PACE 1984 s.1
Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (section 1)
| Outcome | Count |
|---|
| A no further action disposal |
2455 |
| Unknown |
1850 |
| Nothing found - no further action |
981 |
| Arrest |
619 |
| Suspect arrested |
291 |
Unknown
| Outcome | Count |
|---|
| Nothing found - no further action |
777 |
| Unknown |
604 |
| A no further action disposal |
33 |
| Article found - Detailed outcome u… |
25 |
| Suspect arrested |
20 |
Firearms Act 1968 s.47
Firearms Act 1968 (section 47)
| Outcome | Count |
|---|
| A no further action disposal |
44 |
| Nothing found - no further action |
40 |
| Unknown |
38 |
| Arrest |
9 |
| Suspect arrested |
9 |
Poaching Prevention Act 1862 s.2
Poaching Prevention Act 1862 (section 2)
| Outcome | Count |
|---|
| A no further action disposal |
17 |
| Unknown |
17 |
| Community resolution |
14 |
| Arrest |
3 |
| Nothing found - no further action |
2 |
Published outcomes
Outcome distribution
View data table
| Published outcome |
Records |
| A no further action disposal |
7244 |
| Unknown |
6130 |
| Nothing found - no further action |
3878 |
| Arrest |
2008 |
| Community resolution |
1089 |
| Suspect arrested |
929 |
| Article found - Detailed outcome unavailable |
800 |
| Offender given drugs possession warning |
533 |
| Summons / charged by post |
261 |
| Khat or Cannabis warning |
227 |
| Suspect summonsed to court |
109 |
| Offender cautioned |
36 |
| Local resolution |
32 |
| Offender given penalty notice |
23 |
| Penalty Notice for Disorder |
18 |
| Caution (simple or conditional) |
15 |
Search objects (top 10)
View data table
| Search object |
Records |
Searches with a recorded find |
Recorded find rate |
| Controlled drugs |
15251 |
2011 |
13.2% |
| Offensive weapons |
2705 |
313 |
11.6% |
| Stolen goods |
2266 |
257 |
11.3% |
| Article for use in theft |
1384 |
142 |
10.3% |
| Unknown |
1092 |
34 |
3.1% |
| Articles for use in criminal damage |
225 |
27 |
12.0% |
| Firearms |
209 |
19 |
9.1% |
| Evidence of offences under the Act |
130 |
22 |
16.9% |
| Game or poaching equipment |
30 |
11 |
36.7% |
| Fireworks |
26 |
2 |
7.7% |
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.