- 1. Navigate toMain facts and figures section
- 2. Navigate toThings you need to know section
- 3. Navigate to By ethnicity section
- 4. Navigate to By ethnicity over time section
- 5. Navigate to By ethnicity and area section
- 6. Navigate to By ethnicity and legislation section
- 7. Navigate toData sources section
- 8. Navigate toDownload the data section
1. Main facts and figures
- in the year ending 31 March 2022, there were 516,684 stop and searches in England and Wales (not including vehicle searches)
- ethnicity was not known or recorded for 103,221 (20.0%) of them
- there were 8.7 stop and searches for every 1,000 people – down from 24.8 per 1,000 people in the year ending March 2010
- there were 27.2 stop and searches for every 1,000 black people, compared with 5.6 for every 1,000 white people
- about 40% of all stop and searches took place in the Metropolitan Police force area in London
- there were 31.9 stop and searches for every 1,000 people in Merseyside – the highest rate out of all police force areas
- London had the highest stop and search rates for the black and Asian ethnic group, and Merseyside had the highest rates for the white, mixed and ‘other’ ethnic groups
Further research:
Analysis by Vomfell and Stewart (2021) of 36,000 searches by West Midlands Police between April 2014 and September 2018 suggests that ethnic minorities are over-represented in stop and search compared to both their representation in the population and in crime.
Home Office analysis shows that many of the disparities in the relative rates of stop and search for ethnic groups have fallen. These decreases can be seen when comparing the disparities in the rates of stop and search for ethnic groups, relative to the white group, using the 2021 Census population rates. Nonetheless, these decreases have not removed these disparities, nor have they been consistent across different police force areas.
2. Things you need to know
What the data measures
The data shows:
- the number of stop and searches for different ethnic groups in England and Wales
- how many stop and searches there were for every 1,000 people in each ethnic group (the ‘rate’)
Stop and search rates are rounded to 1 decimal place. Unrounded data was used to work out stop and search rates and differences between ethnic groups
Not included in the data
The data does not include vehicle searches because ethnicity information is not collected during these searches.
The ethnic groups used in the data
The data for the 2 years ending 31 March 2022 uses the 19 ethnic groups from the 2021 Census.
The data for:
- the year ending March 2020 uses the 18 ethnic groups from the 2011 Census
- the 11 years ending March 2019 uses the 16 ethnic groups from the 2001 Census
If someone does not give their ethnicity, it is recorded as ‘unreported’. Stop and searches with unreported ethnicity are included in the rate for ‘All’ ethnic groups.
In the 12 years to March 2022, the percentage of stop and searches with unreported ethnicity went up from 5% to 20%.
Methodology
Read the detailed methodology document for this data.
Someone who is stopped and searched is usually asked for their ethnicity. The circumstances of a stop and search may affect the accuracy of this information.
This can be seen by the high rate of stop and searches for the ‘other’ categories within most ethnic groups. For example, 47% of stop and searches of black people in the year ending March 2022 were assigned to the ‘black other’ ethnic group. The percentage for the ‘Asian other’ ethnic group is similarly high (41%).
Data for the last 2 years is not comparable with previous years due to the different ethnic group categories used. This means the time series data shown here only includes the years from April 2020 to March 2022.
Download the data for data from April 2006 to March 2020.
Data for Greater Manchester Police Force for the period of April 2019 to March 2020 is incomplete, and totals for this period should be interpreted with caution.
Stop and searches are not spread evenly across England and Wales. For example, the Metropolitan Police made 74% of all stop and searches of black people in the year ending March 2022. National rates are influenced by the higher number of incidents involving certain ethnic groups in certain police force areas.
National rates are an average of all police force areas and may not reflect the rates in any individual police force areas.
You can read more about interpreting stop and search statistics, including why we no longer compare ethnic groups using relative likelihoods (such as ‘5 times as likely’) for England and Wales as a whole.
How stop and search rates are calculated
The overall rate of stop and search is calculated by taking the number of people stopped and searched from a particular ethnic group out of every 1,000 people from the same group.
The regional proportional rate of stop and search is calculated by taking the number of people stopped and searched from a particular ethnic group out of the total number of stops and searches for a given area.
Population data from the 2011 Census is used to work out the rate per 1,000 people in each area up to the year ending March 2020. Population data from the 2021 Census is used to work out the rate in each area after that. Read more about the problems using Census data.
3. By ethnicity
| Ethnicity | Rate of stop and search | Number of stop and searches |
|---|---|---|
| All | 8.7 | 516,684 |
| Asian | 8.9 | 48,929 |
| Bangladeshi | 11.5 | 7,417 |
| Chinese | 1.1 | 468 |
| Indian | 3.1 | 5,814 |
| Pakistani | 9.5 | 15,098 |
| Asian Other | 20.7 | 20,132 |
| Black | 27.2 | 65,502 |
| Black African | 13.7 | 20,404 |
| Black Caribbean | 23.0 | 14,339 |
| Black Other | 103.3 | 30,759 |
| Mixed | 9.4 | 16,207 |
| Mixed White and Asian | 3.7 | 1,817 |
| Mixed White and Black African | 6.9 | 1,714 |
| Mixed White and Black Caribbean | 10.1 | 5,176 |
| Mixed Other | 16.1 | 7,500 |
| White | 5.6 | 274,287 |
| White British | 5.2 | 232,287 |
| Gypsy or Irish Traveller | 9.1 | 619 |
| White Irish | 7.2 | 3,674 |
| Roma | N/A* | 0 |
| White Other | 10.3 | 37,707 |
| Other | 6.8 | 8,538 |
| Arab | 1.5 | 501 |
| Any Other Ethnic Background | 8.7 | 8,037 |
| Unknown | N/A* | 103,221 |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity’ (CSV)
Summary of Stop and search By ethnicity Summary
The data shows that, in the year ending March 2022:
- there were 516,684 stop and searches in England and Wales, at a rate of 8.7 for every 1,000 people
- the ethnicity was not known for 103,221 (20.0%) of stop and searches
- there were 27.2 stop and searches for every 1,000 black people, compared with 5.6 for every 1,000 white people
- there were 9.4 stop and searches for every 1,000 people with mixed ethnicity, and 8.9 for every 1,000 Asian people
- the black Caribbean, ‘black other’ and ‘Asian other’ ethnic groups had the highest rates of stop and search out of all 19 individual ethnic groups
- the ‘black other’ ethnic group had the highest rate overall with 103 stop and searches per 1,000 people – this group includes people who did not identify as black African or black Caribbean, or were not recorded as such
4. By ethnicity over time
| 2020/21 | 2021/22 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ethnicity | 2020/21 Rate of stop and search | 2020/21 Number | 2021/22 Rate of stop and search | 2021/22 Number |
| All | 11.7 | 697,210 | 8.7 | 516,684 |
| Asian | 13.6 | 74,976 | 8.9 | 48,929 |
| Bangladeshi | 19.4 | 12,520 | 11.5 | 7,417 |
| Chinese | 1.5 | 647 | 1.1 | 468 |
| Indian | 4.6 | 8,502 | 3.1 | 5,814 |
| Pakistani | 13.7 | 21,678 | 9.5 | 15,098 |
| Any Other Asian Background | 32.5 | 31,629 | 20.7 | 20,132 |
| Black | 40.7 | 97,990 | 27.2 | 65,502 |
| Black African | 21.8 | 32,478 | 13.7 | 20,404 |
| Black Caribbean | 34.0 | 21,203 | 23.0 | 14,339 |
| Any Other Black Background | 148.8 | 44,309 | 103.3 | 30,759 |
| Mixed | 12.5 | 21,412 | 9.4 | 16,207 |
| Mixed White and Asian | 4.7 | 2,293 | 3.7 | 1,817 |
| Mixed White and Black African | 9.2 | 2,302 | 6.9 | 1,714 |
| Mixed White and Black Caribbean | 13.2 | 6,774 | 10.1 | 5,176 |
| Any Other Mixed/Multiple Ethnic Background | 21.5 | 10,043 | 16.1 | 7,500 |
| White | 7.4 | 359,273 | 5.6 | 274,287 |
| White British | 6.8 | 299,679 | 5.2 | 232,287 |
| Gypsy or Irish Traveller | 8.9 | 604 | 9.1 | 619 |
| White Irish | 8.8 | 4,441 | 7.2 | 3,674 |
| Roma | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |
| Any Other White Background | 14.9 | 54,549 | 10.3 | 37,707 |
| Other | 9.1 | 11,473 | 6.8 | 8,538 |
| Arab | 1.3 | 426 | 1.5 | 501 |
| Any Other Ethnic Background | 12.0 | 11,047 | 8.7 | 8,037 |
| Unknown | N/A* | 132,086 | N/A* | 103,221 |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity over time’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity over time’ (CSV)
Summary of Stop and search By ethnicity over time Summary
This data only includes the 2 years between April 2020 and March 2022. This is because different ethnic group categories were used to collect the data, meaning data is not comparable with previous years, and Census 2021 populations were used to calculate the rates.
The data shows that, in the 2 years ending March 2022:
- the stop and search rate in England and Wales went down from 11.7 to 8.7 stop and searches for every 1,000 people
- the stop and search rate went down in every ethnic group except the Arab and white Gypsy or Irish traveller groups where they went up
- the rate for white people was lower than the national rate in both years
- the rates for the Asian, black, and mixed ethnic groups were higher than the national rate in both years
- the Chinese and Arab ethnic groups had the lowest rates out of all 19 ethnic groups in both years, and the ‘black other’ group had the highest rates
- there were no recorded cases of stop and search for individuals from the Roma ethnic group. This does not necessarily mean that there were no searches amongst this community in these years, rather there were no stops and searches where Roma was recorded as the ethnic group.
5. By ethnicity and area
| Police force area | All | Asian | Black | Mixed | White | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rate per 1,000 | Rate per 1,000 | Rate per 1,000 | Rate per 1,000 | Rate per 1,000 | Rate per 1,000 | |
| All - including BTP | 8.7 | 8.9 | 27.2 | 9.4 | 5.6 | 6.8 |
| Bedfordshire | 5.0 | 5.8 | 10.9 | 4.7 | 3.3 | 3.5 |
| British Transport Police | N/A* | N/A* | N/A* | N/A* | N/A* | N/A* |
| Cambridgeshire | 2.8 | 2.8 | 7.9 | 3.0 | 2.1 | 3.4 |
| Cheshire | 5.5 | 1.7 | 14.2 | 5.9 | 4.5 | 4.7 |
| Cleveland | 10.3 | 7.7 | 14.0 | 11.1 | 8.3 | 12.7 |
| Cumbria | 4.4 | 11.0 | 24.3 | 5.7 | 4.0 | 9.9 |
| Derbyshire | 1.6 | 3.0 | 4.1 | 3.3 | 1.1 | 1.6 |
| Dorset | 2.7 | 2.0 | 25.2 | 4.7 | 2.2 | 2.2 |
| Durham | 3.4 | 2.3 | 7.8 | 2.3 | 3.3 | 3.3 |
| Dyfed-Powys | 4.8 | 3.9 | 14.8 | 5.1 | 4.4 | 0.0 |
| Essex | 9.6 | 7.0 | 16.5 | 8.2 | 7.2 | 7.4 |
| Gloucestershire | 2.9 | 2.1 | 9.5 | 5.9 | 2.5 | 0.7 |
| Greater Manchester | 3.3 | 2.9 | 6.0 | 2.8 | 2.5 | 1.7 |
| Gwent | 3.1 | 4.0 | 13.3 | 4.0 | 2.6 | 3.4 |
| Hampshire | 4.9 | 3.0 | 18.1 | 7.0 | 3.9 | 4.8 |
| Hertfordshire | 5.9 | 4.3 | 14.8 | 5.9 | 4.5 | 5.1 |
| Humberside | 6.0 | 7.2 | 17.7 | 7.4 | 5.1 | 3.5 |
| Kent | 6.5 | 4.1 | 13.1 | 8.7 | 5.0 | 10.0 |
| Lancashire | 6.5 | 6.9 | 16.3 | 6.1 | 5.3 | 3.2 |
| Leicestershire | 5.0 | 3.0 | 12.8 | 6.0 | 3.8 | 2.3 |
| Lincolnshire | 3.6 | 2.8 | 14.7 | 3.5 | 3.2 | 6.4 |
| London, City of | 306.6 | N/A* | N/A* | N/A* | N/A* | N/A* |
| Merseyside | 31.9 | 9.0 | 32.9 | 19.9 | 29.0 | 21.8 |
| Metropolitan Police | 23.8 | 14.1 | 40.5 | 14.3 | 14.0 | 10.2 |
| Norfolk | 5.8 | 3.4 | 20.1 | 8.4 | 5.0 | 9.6 |
| North Wales | 6.1 | 3.9 | 9.5 | 4.0 | 5.7 | 6.4 |
| North Yorkshire | 2.3 | 7.0 | 7.9 | 3.5 | 1.9 | 2.9 |
| Northamptonshire | 3.9 | 3.6 | 10.0 | 6.6 | 3.1 | 2.2 |
| Northumbria | 2.9 | 2.7 | 4.8 | 2.1 | 2.9 | 0.5 |
| Nottinghamshire | 3.8 | 2.8 | 7.8 | 4.6 | 2.6 | 2.6 |
| South Wales | 7.5 | 6.2 | 20.0 | 8.7 | 6.8 | 8.0 |
| South Yorkshire | 8.1 | 9.6 | 15.7 | 6.7 | 6.2 | 3.9 |
| Staffordshire | 3.9 | 5.7 | 9.7 | 6.7 | 3.2 | 2.7 |
| Suffolk | 5.5 | 3.8 | 26.7 | 6.1 | 4.4 | 12.1 |
| Surrey | 4.1 | 3.6 | 13.9 | 3.6 | 3.3 | 3.3 |
| Sussex | 3.6 | 2.9 | 20.0 | 3.3 | 3.0 | 4.2 |
| Thames Valley | 5.5 | 5.1 | 10.9 | 6.7 | 3.6 | 1.8 |
| Warwickshire | 2.9 | 3.2 | 16.3 | 5.1 | 2.3 | 3.0 |
| West Mercia | 3.3 | 7.5 | 16.3 | 3.5 | 2.6 | 3.2 |
| West Midlands | 8.1 | 10.2 | 15.0 | 15.8 | 5.2 | 0.2 |
| West Yorkshire | 6.7 | 11.1 | 10.7 | 10.5 | 4.6 | 3.6 |
| Wiltshire | 2.3 | 1.3 | 7.4 | 2.6 | 1.8 | 0.6 |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity and area’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity and area’ (CSV)
Summary of Stop and search By ethnicity and area Summary
The data shows that, in the year ending March 2022:
- the Metropolitan Police in London made 40% of all stop and searches in England and Wales
- there were 23.8 stop and searches for every 1,000 people in London, compared with 6.1 for every 1,000 people in the rest of England and Wales
- there were 40.5 stop and searches for every 1,000 black people in London, compared with 14.2 per 1,000 black people in the rest of England and Wales
- Derbyshire had the lowest overall rate, at 1.6 stop and searches for every 1,000 people
- London had the highest stop and search rates for the Asian and black ethnic groups
- Merseyside had the highest rates for the white, ‘other’ and mixed ethnic groups
- in Dorset, the stop and search rate for black people was 11.5 times higher than for white people – the biggest difference between white people and another ethnic group out of all police force areas
- in Sussex and Warwickshire, the stop and search rate for black people was around 7 times higher than for white people, whereas in London the rate for black people was around 3 times higher
- in North Yorkshire, the rate for Asian people was over 3.7 times higher than for white people
- the rate for people with mixed ethnicity was about 3 times the rate for white people in both Derbyshire and the West Midlands
6. By ethnicity and legislation
| All | Section 1 | Section 60 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ethnicity | All % of searches under this legislation | All Number of searches | Section 1 % of searches under this legislation | Section 1 Number of searches | Section 60 % of searches under this legislation | Section 60 Number of searches |
| All | 100.0 | 413,463 | 100.0 | 410,300 | 100.0 | 3,163 |
| Asian | 11.8 | 48,929 | 11.8 | 48,325 | 19.1 | 604 |
| Black | 15.8 | 65,502 | 15.8 | 64,707 | 25.1 | 795 |
| Mixed | 3.9 | 16,207 | 3.9 | 16,027 | 5.7 | 180 |
| White | 66.3 | 274,287 | 66.5 | 272,792 | 47.3 | 1,495 |
| Other | 2.1 | 8,538 | 2.1 | 8,449 | 2.8 | 89 |
| Unknown | N/A* | 103,221 | N/A* | 102,081 | N/A* | 1,140 |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity and legislation’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity and legislation’ (CSV)
Summary of Stop and search By ethnicity and legislation Summary
This data covers stop and search under the following 3 pieces of legislation:
- section 1 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (‘PACE’), and associated legislation including section 23 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 – the police can stop and search someone they think is carrying items like stolen property or drugs
- section 44/47A of the Terrorism Act 2000 – the police can stop and search someone if they suspect an act of terrorism is about to take place
- section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 – the police can stop and search someone within an authorised area to prevent violence involving weapons
The data shows that, between April 2021 and March 2022:
- 99% of all stop and searches in England and Wales were under PACE section 1
- 1% of stop and searches were under section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act
- no stop and searches were conducted under section 44/47A of the Terrorism Act, so data is not included in the chart and table
- there were 3,163 stop and searches under section 60 where ethnicity details were known – 1,495 of these involved white people (47.3%), 795 involved black people (25.1%)
- a further 1,140 section 60 stop and searches involved people with unknown ethnicity
7. Data sources
Source
Police powers and procedures: England and Wales, year ending 31 March 2022.
Type of data
Administrative data
Type of statistic
National Statistics
Publisher
Home Office
Publication frequency
Yearly
Purpose of data source
Figures on arrests and stop and search reported to the Home Office are used to create greater transparency in the use of police powers in England and Wales. They enhance accountability by enabling the public to monitor police forces at a national and local level.
The data is used to form a national picture of the trends in arrests and stop and search. It informs discussions about crime, policing and criminal justice in government and academia, and ensures the public are accurately informed.
8. Download the data
This file contains the following: measure, ethnicity, year, police force area, legislation type, number of stop and searches, rate of stop and search, proportion of stop and searches, population estimates