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 June 2026

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 June 2026
Months included
133
Police force filter
West Mercia
Latest loaded month
June 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?.

Filters

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

48306
Stop and Search Records
10758
Searches with a Recorded Find
22.3%
Recorded Find Rate
1
Police Forces in View
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 8060 1314 16.3%
18-24 14904 3346 22.5%
25-34 11568 2805 24.2%
over 34 11367 2769 24.4%
Unknown 2378 519 21.8%
under 10 29 5 17.2%

Gender Split

View data table
Gender Records Searches with a recorded find Recorded find rate
Other 309 25 8.1%
Unknown 764 221 28.9%
Male 41344 9310 22.5%
Female 5889 1202 20.4%
By Police Force

Recorded Find Rate by Police Force

View data table
Police force Records Searches with a recorded find Recorded find rate
West Mercia 48306 10758 22.3%
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 14242 3582 25.2%
Vehicle search 544 134 24.6%
Person search 33520 7042 21.0%

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) 28073 6232 22.2%
Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (section 1) 17457 4086 23.4%
Criminal Justice Act 1988 (section 139B) 1754 256 14.6%
Firearms Act 1968 (section 47) 664 155 23.3%
Unknown 220 3 1.4%
Poaching Prevention Act 1862 (section 2) 61 14 23.0%
Psychoactive Substances Act 2016 (s36(2)) 26 3 11.5%
Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 (section 60) 24 2 8.3%
Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (section 19) 14 5 35.7%
Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 (section 163) 6 1 16.7%
Sporting Events Act 1985 (section 7) 3 0 0.0%
Crossbows Act 1987 (section 4) 3 1 33.3%
Psychoactive Substances Act 2016 (s37(2)) 1 0 0.0%
Legislation outcome tables

Drugs Act 1971 s.23

Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (section 23)

OutcomeCount
A no further action disposal 11541
Nothing found - no further action 6219
Arrest 3955
Suspect arrested 1641
Khat or Cannabis warning 1346

PACE 1984 s.1

Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (section 1)

OutcomeCount
A no further action disposal 9132
Arrest 3364
Nothing found - no further action 2803
Suspect arrested 692
Community resolution 551

Criminal Justice Act 1988 s.139B

Criminal Justice Act 1988 (section 139B)

OutcomeCount
Nothing found - no further action 999
Arrest 225
Suspect arrested 224
A no further action disposal 209
Local resolution 24

Firearms Act 1968 s.47

Firearms Act 1968 (section 47)

OutcomeCount
A no further action disposal 369
Arrest 131
Nothing found - no further action 106
Suspect arrested 21
Community resolution 14

Unknown

OutcomeCount
Nothing found - no further action 166
Suspect arrested 29
A no further action disposal 7
Offender given drugs possession wa… 5
Suspect summonsed to court 5
Published Outcomes

Outcome Distribution

View data table
Published outcome Records
A no further action disposal 21366
Nothing found - no further action 10294
Arrest 7685
Suspect arrested 2607
Khat or Cannabis warning 1485
Community resolution 1473
Offender given drugs possession warning 963
Summons / charged by post 613
Local resolution 448
Unknown 278
Penalty Notice for Disorder 257
Caution (simple or conditional) 229
Offender cautioned 212
Suspect summonsed to court 212
Offender given penalty notice 171
Article found - Detailed outcome unavailable 13

Search Objects (Top 10)

View data table
Search object Records Searches with a recorded find Recorded find rate
Controlled drugs 28140 6290 22.4%
Stolen goods 6404 1541 24.1%
Offensive weapons 6131 1313 21.4%
Article for use in theft 4390 922 21.0%
Anything to threaten or harm anyone 1111 283 25.5%
Firearms 747 163 21.8%
Articles for use in criminal damage 561 111 19.8%
Detailed object of search unavailable 338 5 1.5%
Evidence of offences under the Act 148 49 33.1%
Psychoactive substances 110 36 32.7%
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.