Stop and search by what officers were looking for
Stop and searches recorded by police forces in England and Wales that publish to police.uk, grouped by the object of the search, for the latest month published.
Stop and searches recorded
23,868
Aug 2026 · across 28 forces
Verified against source, 27 October 2026, 05:53 UTCSource: Home Office – police.uk. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Data table
15 rows
| Category | Stop and searches |
|---|---|
| Controlled drugs | 13,045 |
| Not recorded | 3,677 |
| Offensive weapons | 2,820 |
| Stolen goods | 1,756 |
| Article for use in theft | 1,454 |
| Articles for use in criminal damage | 383 |
| Evidence of offences under the Act | 304 |
| Firearms | 167 |
| Anything to threaten or harm anyone | 112 |
| Psychoactive substances | 41 |
| Game or poaching equipment | 34 |
| Evidence of wildlife offences | 27 |
| Goods on which duty has not been paid etc. | 17 |
| Detailed object of search unavailable | 16 |
| Fireworks | 15 |
Source and licence
- Publisher
- Home Office – police.uk
- Check it yourself
- https://data.police.uk/docs/method/stops-force/
- Licence
- Open Government Licence v3.0 – Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
- Retrieved
- 27 October 2026, 05:49 UTC
- Raw files fetched
- https://data.police.uk/api/crimes-street-datesSHA-256 cfa35e1fda15a83c777ebc8fa50f7b2ad7af93cbe042d9141cd028e297cc459e · 21,033 bytes
- https://data.police.uk/api/stops-force?force=avon-and-somerset&date=2026-08SHA-256 e149f225e53105f57475e99922f21ebb58d610df60c20dbc3cd86dc519391194 · 385,642 bytes
- https://data.police.uk/api/stops-force?force=btp&date=2026-08SHA-256 de5bf9b0d77828bfffe1568a3ae87f590a1623ed2bcca2366767276c4423f895 · 765,037 bytes
- https://data.police.uk/api/stops-force?force=cambridgeshire&date=2026-08SHA-256 45ca24c8842ba5f634a773e2a0657843f64307f761ceb53816c9c10cb4ed623a · 161,898 bytes
- https://data.police.uk/api/stops-force?force=cheshire&date=2026-08SHA-256 d2057c24449f8e72db902c94e3c5406624c706aff6a08d728055dd24b65dfabb · 640,449 bytes
- https://data.police.uk/api/stops-force?force=city-of-london&date=2026-08SHA-256 3a0599f6d451ea56cfd0f88f3a094c32efe374134260e41706cc009ffdf07849 · 158,477 bytes
- https://data.police.uk/api/stops-force?force=cumbria&date=2026-08SHA-256 bd0fab93ed70e999c4171104a85cd4e08e71ae538c8e567e30dacf9a924b6bce · 368,367 bytes
- https://data.police.uk/api/stops-force?force=derbyshire&date=2026-08SHA-256 6699720c52166b5fd16ba630791f1e28d8f3727fbee9caa9ca037a32b7878d92 · 365,433 bytes
- https://data.police.uk/api/stops-force?force=devon-and-cornwall&date=2026-08SHA-256 9ab335f6b38691786d29edbf2ae919084dcddd417ce46cb39472ea0406f7751e · 405,013 bytes
- https://data.police.uk/api/stops-force?force=dorset&date=2026-08SHA-256 15ef94af0458801bfd599835224d6ac9c147ddb2f09679fd39f83cfa7b31143f · 127,506 bytes
- https://data.police.uk/api/stops-force?force=durham&date=2026-08SHA-256 7acbfac8857f5fa37424667f7d45b98ad9cb94454ca412416d733a1a9e6a78f1 · 149,237 bytes
- https://data.police.uk/api/stops-force?force=essex&date=2026-08SHA-256 f8ae44ba6068bdacfdd22d0be6a21876e2e847db2568b32844d44a57172a2248 · 778,211 bytes
- https://data.police.uk/api/stops-force?force=hampshire&date=2026-08SHA-256 087c7dcaaf133d54520899326d7954d2e40453355404a42e9a4343c2f97fe080 · 952,129 bytes
- https://data.police.uk/api/stops-force?force=hertfordshire&date=2026-08SHA-256 87ce07422e711ed1f0091e82cf98219a7f781d28c77faf5607e0ba3e0f67051f · 444,132 bytes
- https://data.police.uk/api/stops-force?force=kent&date=2026-08SHA-256 4f628f0ee90c202b57aec4be981d78b35e6eff2c57c6e4a0c506b48a4511eb81 · 1,036,131 bytes
- https://data.police.uk/api/stops-force?force=lancashire&date=2026-08SHA-256 62601b8e308107a5bdbfe501b0d9c930d8d71ffcd0084faebb728394d60b8fa3 · 1,279,742 bytes
- https://data.police.uk/api/stops-force?force=leicestershire&date=2026-08SHA-256 6476dccd37266b8be1ba1bb2d76679b729e6237f4b9b79dfcb6ef09b76a09f11 · 340,319 bytes
- https://data.police.uk/api/stops-force?force=merseyside&date=2026-08SHA-256 596e196a9f0d2c4c29c6a38fff05887819fc72419d52e30ea71aac55df5b00db · 3,276,019 bytes
- https://data.police.uk/api/stops-force?force=north-wales&date=2026-08SHA-256 94c991013fbd40a0c0563fc11331db0cf3fb1433d8584bf618dd79d61ba847be · 187,265 bytes
- https://data.police.uk/api/stops-force?force=northamptonshire&date=2026-08SHA-256 dfa561391fb273b55b9fa34968283bf04ff3ccad5fc70cf8fd9530ded37a0ab5 · 133,489 bytes
- https://data.police.uk/api/stops-force?force=northumbria&date=2026-08SHA-256 d54daf568b23dad3d537f0a42c75b464f197181b3433a0aa24b2d55849f4cc3e · 337,116 bytes
- https://data.police.uk/api/stops-force?force=south-yorkshire&date=2026-08SHA-256 42f5026b6a78c75bdd91bcaa4101b8b58140f2b3ac6d6a277df469f72a262fb2 · 480,885 bytes
- https://data.police.uk/api/stops-force?force=surrey&date=2026-08SHA-256 249db4f339160ffe0b063cf6e8e6814e781c5b718140a01e47742b71ceb1bddc · 243,198 bytes
- https://data.police.uk/api/stops-force?force=sussex&date=2026-08SHA-256 8fbf4acb16049fb4c591c1fec5000d9e4b6a398e69601ba1d38379d5a9a82335 · 443,997 bytes
- https://data.police.uk/api/stops-force?force=thames-valley&date=2026-08SHA-256 3209e0f81dfe12170014cfe2854fb3bd56ec1265b94ab7ad70c5d3a869663c82 · 969,566 bytes
- https://data.police.uk/api/stops-force?force=warwickshire&date=2026-08SHA-256 c3848c85e02aedc6df4a4f0eaa0e7bbb22d29299ea5a7cdf624d804d4d6b82aa · 65,579 bytes
- https://data.police.uk/api/stops-force?force=west-mercia&date=2026-08SHA-256 1cc4da0ce61b3c4d746a8122fc807b8fbc8e1997df1122a0447c623c230bf88f · 205,725 bytes
- https://data.police.uk/api/stops-force?force=west-yorkshire&date=2026-08SHA-256 897f2f87b95a3827a729d6e8a796c9477d8d515f9a935b748bd6d4e6dcbfbbbc · 1,136,642 bytes
- https://data.police.uk/api/stops-force?force=wiltshire&date=2026-08SHA-256 ec91f80690e23f6b88776ae980041e699f2b23dc71ba9f9c063e00a1c82cf8f2 · 115,851 bytes
Verification
Verified against source, 27 October 2026, 05:53 UTC Run at 27 October 2026, 05:53 UTC; 15 of 15 figures matched the live source.
| Result | Check | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Pass | Provenance recorded | Home Office – police.uk; Open Government Licence v3.0; retrieved 2026-10-27T05:49:33Z; 29 raw file(s) |
| Pass | Raw files match recorded SHA-256 | 29 of 29 files intact |
| Pass | Re-parsing raw files reproduces figures | 15 of 15 figures and the headline reproduced |
| Pass | Figures are finite numbers | 15 figures, 0 invalid |
| Pass | Live source matches every figure | 15 of 15 figures match exactly after downloading 29 source file(s) again (29 byte-identical); the headline matches |
| Not run | Second route | police.uk offers one endpoint for this data, so the live re-fetch is the check; no independent second route exists. |
| Pass | Source page answers | https://data.police.uk/docs/method/stops-force/ – HTTP 200 |
Notes
- Only forces that published stop and search data to police.uk for the month are included; the force list is in the raw crimes_street_dates.json file.