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?

The relentless pursuit of criminals is a key focus for our officers across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, and Stop and Search is an important tactic we use to tackle criminal activity and make our area a hostile place for those wishing harm our communities.

Between April 2023 and March 2024, our officers conducted a total of 12,199 stops.

Tackling those who supply drugs in our districts makes up the majority of these, with 7,911 being conducted (65 per cent).

Our focus on acquisitive crimes and burglary meant we made 1,680 stops for stolen property (14 per cent), while we carried out 555 searches (five per cent) on the grounds someone may be going equipped - a preparatory offence relating to burglary.

Our work to remove offensive weapons from the street means 1,628 of our searches for the year were looking for offensive weapons (13 per cent).

We used our Section 60 powers - can be implemented in areas where either serious violence has occurred or police believe serious violence is about to occur - to carry out 123 stops (one per cent).

Overall, officers found an item during a search on 3,899 occasions (32 per cent), which is an increase from the previous year of just over 600.

These searches have led us to making 1,410 arrests - an increase of 408 from the previous year - issuing 1,779 community resolutions, 181 summons to court, 66 cautions, and arranging a further 385 voluntary interviews.

Is our use of Stop and Search proportionate?

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.

Over the course of the 12 months from April 2023 to March 2024, we carried out 8,584 stops of a white person, with 566 stops of a black person, 455 of a person of mixed heritage and 447 being of an Asian person.

This means as a force, you are 4.1 times more likely to be stopped by one of our officers if you are black, based on disproportionality data calculated using population data from the most recent Census, 2.4 times more likely to be stopped if you are mixed race, and one time more likely to be stopped if you are Asian.

Our Independent Advisory Groups (IAGs) provide scrutiny of our use of stop and search, but 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 or engage via our force Facebook pages if that is not something you’d like to do.

Where can I find more information about Stop & Search?

You can see more about the numbers by looking at the infographic, below. We are committed to publishing the data for people to view, including annual figures.

You can also view it in an easy-to-read PDF document as well.

Information for each of our districts is also available, which we hope provides you with a better understanding of how we are using the powers available to us where you live.

When can police officers use Stop and Search?

Find out about this and more about the commitment we have made to the public