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?

Our stop search figures have seen a decrease this quarter. Effective use of stop and search helps us to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour (ASB), and prevent more serious crime without imposition of arrest on an individual.

Searches for drugs remain the top reason and there are a number of reasons for this such as preventing drug driving, with impairment through drugs being as lethal as impairment through alcohol. Drug dealing and use can also be linked to ASB and the exploitation of vulnerable people. Officers use information from the public to patrol areas known to suffer the effects. Weapons, including knives, are the next most common reason for searching.​

Around 30 per cent of our stops result in a positive outcome, this indicates that the right people are being targeted, and our powers are being used lawfully.​

Is our use of Stop and Search proportionate on the Isle of Wight?

Proportionality of stops for black persons are at 12 times for this quarter. This involved 6 incidents  with a black person being searched over a 3 month period; 3 resulted in positive outcomes with  either arrest or community resolution applied.

All cases were brought to our Independent Advisory Group volunteers for scrutiny and all were found to be lawful and proportionate in nature.

Where can I find more information about Stop & Search on the Isle of Wight?

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 the data from previous quarters?

If you want to view data from previous quarters, then you can check out both the graphic and text-only versions of this below.

What is the Isle of Wight Independent Advisory Group (IAG) and what do they do?

Each quarter, members of our community meet as part of our IAG to discuss stop and search within the district and conduct a dip sample of searches to ensure they are lawful and proportionate.

Along with this, they will also take a look at locations where there have been a number of stops and individuals who have been stopped multiple times.

As part of our continued commitment to ensuring our use of the Stop and Search powers available to us and the scrutiny of this are transparent, we are now publishing notes from our IAG meetings.

These notes are anonymised, but we hope will help show what our group does. We are keen to broaden this group further and get the views of our community, in particular those with direct experience of stop and search.

If you wish to find out more or join our IAG, you can email [email protected]