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.

June 2015 to August 2026

123548

Stop and search records

26111

Searches with a recorded find

21.1%

Recorded find rate

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: June 2015 to August 2026
Months included: 131
Police force filter: Essex
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.

Filters

Choose a month range and optional police force. The page defaults to the latest loaded month.

From year

From month

To year

To month

Police force

Demographic breakdown

Age group distribution

View data table

Age group	Records	Searches with a recorded find	Recorded find rate
10-17	21800	3245	14.9%
18-24	33670	7832	23.3%
25-34	22371	5759	25.7%
over 34	20952	5156	24.6%
Unknown	24701	4117	16.7%
under 10	54	2	3.7%

Gender split

View data table

Gender	Records	Searches with a recorded find	Recorded find rate
Other	210	23	11.0%
Unknown	9253	2209	23.9%
Male	98596	21271	21.6%
Female	15489	2608	16.8%

By police force

Recorded find rate by police force

View data table

Police force	Records	Searches with a recorded find	Recorded find rate
Essex	123548	26111	21.1%

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	21608	5891	27.3%
Vehicle search	8762	2150	24.5%
Person search	93178	18070	19.4%

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)	76457	17425	22.8%
Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (section 1)	43749	8315	19.0%
Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 (section 60)	1676	97	5.8%
Unknown	555	130	23.4%
Firearms Act 1968 (section 47)	522	97	18.6%
Psychoactive Substances Act 2016 (s36(2))	414	26	6.3%
Poaching Prevention Act 1862 (section 2)	63	14	22.2%
Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (section 19)	52	1	1.9%
Aviation Security Act 1982 (section 27(1))	49	6	12.2%
Criminal Justice Act 1988 (section 139B)	2	0	0.0%
Public Stores Act 1875 (section 6)	2	0	0.0%
Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 (section 163)	2	0	0.0%
Protection of Badgers Act 1992 (section 11)	1	0	0.0%
Deer Act 1991 (section 12)	1	0	0.0%
Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (section 289)	1	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	48759
Community resolution	10052
Arrest	8134
Khat or Cannabis warning	3380
Nothing found - no further action	2593

PACE 1984 s.1

Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (section 1)

Outcome	Count
A no further action disposal	31203
Arrest	6647
Community resolution	2360
Nothing found - no further action	1935
Suspect arrested	385

CJPOA 1994 s.60

Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 (section 60)

Outcome	Count
A no further action disposal	1559
Community resolution	35
Khat or Cannabis warning	30
Arrest	29
Nothing found - no further action	10

Unknown

Outcome	Count
A no further action disposal	413
Arrest	97
Summons / charged by post	28
Community resolution	11
Penalty Notice for Disorder	4

Firearms Act 1968 s.47

Firearms Act 1968 (section 47)

Outcome	Count
A no further action disposal	342
Arrest	85
Nothing found - no further action	52
Suspect arrested	12
Community resolution	11

Published outcomes

Outcome distribution

View data table

Published outcome	Records
A no further action disposal	82734
Arrest	15012
Community resolution	12556
Nothing found - no further action	4602
Khat or Cannabis warning	3638
Summons / charged by post	1027
Suspect arrested	1026
Unknown	816
Offender given drugs possession warning	737
Caution (simple or conditional)	683
Local resolution	229
Article found - Detailed outcome unavailable	194
Penalty Notice for Disorder	94
Offender cautioned	91
Offender given penalty notice	57
Suspect summonsed to court	52

Search objects (top 10)

View data table

Search object	Records	Searches with a recorded find	Recorded find rate
Unknown	81549	16743	20.5%
Controlled drugs	28449	7178	25.2%
Offensive weapons	4740	768	16.2%
Article for use in theft	3290	470	14.3%
Stolen goods	2787	679	24.4%
Anything to threaten or harm anyone	1101	67	6.1%
Evidence of offences under the Act	823	102	12.4%
Articles for use in criminal damage	479	59	12.3%
Firearms	330	45	13.6%

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.