Stop and Search Powers: Are the police using them effectively and fairly?

Published on: 9 July 2013

Publication types: Stop and search

Police Forces: Avon and Somerset, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Cheshire, City of London, Cleveland, Cumbria, Derbyshire, Devon and Cornwall, Dorset, Durham, Dyfed-Powys, Essex, Gloucestershire, Greater Manchester, Gwent, Hampshire, Heddlu Dyfed-Powys, Hertfordshire, Humberside, Kent, Lancashire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Merseyside, Metropolitan, Norfolk, North Wales, North Yorkshire, Northamptonshire, Northumbria, Nottinghamshire, South Wales, South Yorkshire, Staffordshire, Suffolk, Surrey, Sussex, Thames Valley, Warwickshire, West Mercia, West Midlands, West Yorkshire and Wiltshire

Summary

The summer riots of 2011 once again focused attention on the way police use stop and search powers. As a result of this renewed concern, in December 2011 the Home Secretary commissioned HMIC to carry out an inspection into the use of stop and search legislation by police forces in England and Wales.

In our report, we found that police use of stop and search powers is too often ineffective in tackling crime and procedurally incorrect, thereby threatening the legitimacy of the police.

Get the report

Stop and Search Powers: Are the police using them effectively and fairly? (PDF document)

Get the press release

Press release for ‘Stop and Search Powers: Are the police using them effectively and fairly?’

Get the police and crime commissioners’ responses to the national report

Avon and Somerset police and crime commissioner’s letter in response to “Stop and Search Powers: Are the police using them effectively and fairly?” (PDF document)

Bedfordshire’s police and crime commissioner’s response to ‘Stop and Search Powers: Are the police using them effectively and fairly?’ (PDF document)

Cambridgeshire police and crime commissioner’s letter in response to ‘Stop and Search Powers: Are the police using them effectively and fairly?’ (PDF document)

Chair of the Police Committee for the City of London’s in response to “Stop and Search Powers: Are the police using them effectively and fairly?” (PDF document)

Cheshire police and crime commissioner’s letter in response to “Stop and Search Powers: Are the police using them effectively and fairly?” (PDF document)

Cleveland police and crime commissioner’s letter in response to “Stop and Search Powers: Are the police using them effectively and fairly?” (PDF document)

Dorset police and crime commissioner’s response to “Stop and Search Powers: Are the police using them effectively and fairly?” (PDF document)

Dyfed-Powys police and crime commissioner’s letter in response to “Stop and Search Powers: Are the police using them effectively and fairly?”

Greater Manchester police and crime commissioner’s letter in response to “Stop and Search Powers: Are the police using them effectively and fairly?” (PDF document)

Gwent police and crime commissioner’s letter in response to ‘Stop and Search Powers: Are the police using them effectively and fairly?’

Leicestershire police and crime commissioner’s letter in response to “Stop and Search Powers: Are the police using them effectively and fairly?” (PDF document)

Lincolnshire police and crime commissioner’s letter in response to “Stop and Search Powers: Are the police using them effectively and fairly?” (PDF document)

Merseyside police and crime commissioner’s letter in response to “Stop and Search Powers: Are the police using them effectively and fairly?” (PDF document)

Northumbria police and crime commissioner’s letter in response to “Stop and Search Powers: Are the police using them effectively and fairly?”

North Wales police and crime commissioner’s letter in response to “Stop and Search Powers: Are the police using them effectively and fairly?” (PDF document)

North Yorkshire police and crime commissioner’s letter in response to “Stop and Search Powers: Are the police using them effectively and fairly?” (PDF document)

Nottinghamshire police and crime commissioner’s letter in response to “Stop and Search Powers: Are the police using them effectively and fairly?” (PDF document)

South Yorkshire police and crime commissioner’s letter in response to “Stop and Search Powers: Are the police using them effectively and fairly?” (PDF document)

Suffolk police and crime commissioner’s letter in response to “Stop and Search Powers: Are the police using them effectively and fairly?” (PDF document)

Surrey police and crime commissioner’s letter in response to “Stop and Search Powers: Are the police using them effectively and fairly?” (PDF document)

Sussex police and crime commissioner’s letter in response to “Stop and Search Powers: Are the police using them effectively and fairly?” (PDF document)

Thames Valley police and crime commissioner’s letter in response to “Stop and Search Powers: Are the police using them effectively and fairly?” (PDF document)

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Get the data

Stop and search research findings