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09 January 2026 / Neil Parpworth
Issue: 8144 / Categories: Features , Criminal , Public
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Stop & search: the latest data

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Neil Parpworth crunches the 2024–25 numbers on police use of stop & search powers
  • The latest Home Office data shows that the stop and search powers the police most often use are s 23(2) of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and s 1 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984.
  • Section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994—suspicionless stop and search—is a relatively little-utilised power and is used inconsistently across forces.
  • This article also considers arrest rates in relation to stop and searches, and the increase in the use of body-worn video.

As is clear from Annex A to PACE Code of Practice A, police officers have a number of statutory stop and search powers which enable them to prevent or detect the commission of criminal offences. These range from the oldest such power, s 6 of the Public Stores Act 1875 (which enables the search of persons, vehicles or vessels for HM stores that have been stolen or unlawfully obtained),

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