Stop and Search

The force has a commitment to becoming more open and transparent. Part of this is being better at sharing and engaging on some of the powers that our police officers use to keep people safe, and that includes Stop and Search.

We believe that greater scrutiny will further ensure that our use of these is right and proper.

What are we searching for?

A key district priority for me is to robustly deal with youth on youth violence, linked to class B drugs, and we have made a number of arrests in relation to this.

We have seen a decrease in the total number of searches over the last six months, but we continue to build our intelligence and make effective use of stop and search, which is a vital tactic in disrupting and tackling criminal activity.

The majority of our searches are related to drugs (75), while 30 have been in search of stolen goods and 18 relate to going equipped.

Is our use of stop and search in Eastleigh proportionate?

During quarter four of 2023-24, our data showed a black person was 8.3 times more likely to be stopped in Eastleigh and a mixed race person 4.3 times more likely to be stopped.

During this quarter, we conducted 20 searches of people who are black or from a minority ethnicity. Of these, eight were of black people, nine were of people of mixed heritage and three of Asian people. The positive outcome rate - where we find an item we are searching for - for these searches is in line with the rate for searches of a white person.

Within the constabulary, stop and search is scrutinised by line managers and local Inspectors, to ensure we are using it lawfully and proportionately, as well as looking to make sure it remains the most suitable police power to use. 

We know that some families who have lost loved ones to violence and drug related harm advocate police searches but we also know many people have concerns about whether policing powers are used fairly. As a force we know that it helps us to keep people safe and spend considerable time scrutinising how it is used. But, we also recognise that our view alone is not enough.

We need views from others so we are doing far more engagement than we did previously. Scrutiny involving our Independent Advisory Groups (made up of members of the public) is therefore part of our approach, and we would encourage people all of our communities to get involved in these groups. ​We also want to hear more views on Stop and Search. Follow us on Facebook if you’d like to take part in discussions about policing in your local area.

Where can I find more information about Stop & Search in Eastleigh?

You can see more about the numbers by looking at the infographic, below. We have also provided the same data in a different format if that is easier for you.

Where can I find previous quarterly data?

If you want to look at data from previous quarters from the Eastleigh district, then you will be able to find it here.