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Police Stop and Search: Why Black People Are Stopped 8 Times More Than White People

News · January 20, 2025 · Daily Junction Editorial Team · 10 min

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Black people in England and Wales are 8.4 times more likely to be stopped and searched by police than white people. Despite this disparity, stop and search finds weapons or drugs in only 17% of cases, raising questions about effectiveness and racial bias.

Police in England and Wales conducted 626,000 stop and searches in the year ending September 2024, with Black people 8.4 times more likely to be stopped than white people, according to Home Office statistics. Despite this disparity, stop and search finds weapons or drugs in only 17% of cases, meaning 83% of searches find nothing. The use of Section 60 searches—which do not require reasonable suspicion—has increased by 140% since 2018, with even lower success rates of just 8%. Young Black men in London are stopped an average of 3 times per year, creating deep mistrust and damaging police-community relations. The Macpherson Report (1999), which investigated the racist murder of Stephen Lawrence, warned that disproportionate stop and search undermines public confidence in policing, but the disparity has worsened in the 25 years since. Here is everything you need to know about stop and search: how it works, why the racial disparity exists, and whether it actually reduces crime.

What Is Stop and Search?

Stop and search is a police power that allows officers to stop and search a person or vehicle if they have reasonable grounds to suspect the person is carrying:

• Illegal drugs
• Weapons (knives, firearms, offensive weapons)
• Stolen property
• Items that could be used to commit a crime (e.g., burglary tools)

The power is governed by the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE), which requires officers to:

• Have reasonable suspicion: Officers must have specific, objective grounds to suspect the person is carrying something illegal—a 'hunch' or stereotype is not sufficient.
• Explain the search: Officers must tell the person why they are being searched, what they are looking for, and their legal rights.
• Provide a record: Officers must give the person a written record of the search, including the officer's name, the reason for the search, and the outcome.

Section 60: Stop and Search Without Suspicion

Section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 is a more controversial power that allows police to stop and search anyone in a designated area without needing reasonable suspicion, if a senior officer (Inspector or above) believes:

• Serious violence may occur in the area, or
• People are carrying weapons in the area

Section 60 can be authorised for up to 24 hours (extendable to 48 hours) and applies to everyone in the designated area, regardless of whether they are suspected of any wrongdoing.

Section 60 is supposed to be used sparingly, in response to specific intelligence about imminent violence. However, it has been used increasingly widely, particularly in London and other major cities.

The Scale of Stop and Search

The latest Home Office statistics (year ending September 2024) show:

• 626,000 stop and searches conducted in England and Wales
• 17% resulted in arrest or finding of weapons/drugs
• 83% found nothing
• Section 60 searches: 52,000 (8% of total), with only 8% success rate

Racial Disparity

The racial disparity in stop and search is stark:

This means:

• Black people are stopped 8.4 times more than white people
• Asian people are stopped 1.6 times more than white people
• Mixed ethnicity people are stopped 3.2 times more than white people

The disparity is even worse for Section 60 searches:

• Black people account for 50% of Section 60 searches, despite being only 4% of the population
• Black people are stopped under Section 60 at 18 times the rate of white people

Geographic Variation

The disparity varies by police force area:

In London, young Black men (aged 15-24) are stopped an average of 3 times per year, according to StopWatch analysis.

Why Does the Disparity Exist?

The racial disparity in stop and search is driven by multiple factors:

1. Police Deployment Patterns

Police deploy more officers to areas with higher crime rates, which often have higher Black populations. This means Black people are more likely to encounter police and therefore more likely to be stopped.

However, research shows this does not fully explain the disparity. Even controlling for local crime rates, Black people are stopped at much higher rates than white people in the same areas.

2. Unconscious Bias

Research shows that police officers, like the general population, hold unconscious biases that associate Black people with criminality. This can lead officers to:

• Perceive Black people as more suspicious than white people in the same circumstances
• Interpret ambiguous behaviour (e.g., looking nervous, avoiding eye contact) as suspicious when exhibited by Black people but not white people
• Stop Black people based on stereotypes rather than objective evidence

Studies using body-worn camera footage have found that officers are more likely to stop Black people for vague reasons like "acting suspiciously" or "known to police," while white people are more likely to be stopped for specific, objective reasons like "seen handling drugs."

3. Gang Matrices and Intelligence Databases

Police forces use gang matrices and intelligence databases to identify individuals believed to be involved in gangs or serious violence. These databases disproportionately include Black people, particularly young Black men, leading to:

• Targeted stop and search of individuals on the database
• Guilt by association: People are added to the database based on social media connections, music videos, or being in the same area as known gang members, even if they have not committed any crime
• Self-fulfilling prophecy: Being on the database leads to more stops, which leads to more arrests (even for minor offences), which reinforces the perception that the person is a criminal

The Information Commissioner's Office has criticised gang matrices for being racially discriminatory and lacking transparency.

4. Section 60 Use in Black Communities

Section 60 is disproportionately used in areas with high Black populations, particularly in London. This is partly because these areas have higher rates of serious violence, but also because:

• Blanket approach: Section 60 allows police to stop anyone in the area, leading to high volumes of stops with low success rates.
• Perception of harassment: Residents in areas with frequent Section 60 use report feeling harassed and targeted, particularly young Black men who are stopped repeatedly despite having done nothing wrong.

5. Lack of Accountability

Despite legal requirements, many stop and searches are not properly recorded or justified:

• Vague reasons: Officers often record vague reasons for searches like "acting suspiciously" or "known to police," which do not meet the legal standard of reasonable suspicion.
• No consequences for unlawful searches: Officers who conduct unlawful searches are rarely disciplined, creating a culture of impunity.
• Low complaint success rates: Complaints about stop and search are rarely upheld, even when the search was clearly unlawful.

The Impact on Communities

The racial disparity in stop and search has serious consequences:

1. Mistrust of Police

Repeated stop and search creates deep mistrust of police in Black communities:

• Young Black men report feeling harassed and targeted by police, even when they have done nothing wrong.
• Families teach children to fear police rather than see them as protectors.
• Reduced cooperation: Communities that feel over-policed are less likely to report crimes or cooperate with police investigations, making it harder to solve serious crimes.

2. Criminalisation of Young Black Men

Being stopped and searched repeatedly has a criminalising effect:

• Normalisation: Young Black men come to see police contact as inevitable, rather than exceptional.
• Escalation: Minor interactions (e.g., being stopped for looking suspicious) can escalate to arrests for minor offences like cannabis possession or resisting arrest, giving young people criminal records.
• Barriers to opportunity: Criminal records create barriers to education, employment, and housing, pushing young people further into criminality.

3. Mental Health Impact

Research shows that being stopped and searched has negative mental health effects:

• Anxiety and stress: Young Black men report feeling anxious and stressed about being stopped, particularly in areas with high Section 60 use.
• Humiliation: Being searched in public, particularly in front of peers or family, is humiliating and degrading.
• Trauma: Aggressive or violent searches can be traumatic, particularly for young people.

Does Stop and Search Reduce Crime?

The evidence on the effectiveness of stop and search is mixed:

1. Some Evidence of Short-Term Impact

Some studies show that targeted, intelligence-led stop and search can reduce weapon carrying and violent crime in the short term, particularly when:

• Focused on high-risk individuals and locations: Stopping people who are known to carry weapons or in areas with high levels of violence.
• Part of a broader strategy: Combined with other interventions like youth services, community engagement, and violence reduction programmes.

2. Blanket Stop and Search Is Ineffective

However, high-volume, indiscriminate stop and search—particularly Section 60—has little impact on crime and may increase it by: