Stop and Search

Under section 1 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE), a police constable may temporarily detain any person who he reasonably suspects of possessing stolen or prohibited items in order to carry out a search to find said items. This section also provides a constable with the power to search any vehicle for which he reasonably suspects contains any such items as mentioned above.

Searches under PACE may only be conducted in a public place such as a park or a place where the public has access by virtue of permission such as a gym. PACE searches cannot be conducted in a dwelling house, for example, the police cannot rely on PACE to search you whilst you are in your own home or the garden or yard of your home (although if the police have reasonable suspicion to suspect that you do not have the right to be in the garden, they may conduct a search – This also applies to vehicles on such land.)

The prohibited items that come within the scope of PACE are:
– Stolen property
– An offensive weapon, e.g. a knife;
– An article for use in the course of burglary, theft, vehicle theft, fraud or criminal damage e.g. a crowbar or lockpicks;
– Fireworks.

Code A of PACE requires ‘reasonable suspicion’ to be a ‘genuine suspicion.’ This means that it must be objective and based on ‘facts, information or intelligence’ or specific behaviours that would lead any reasonable person to reach the same conclusion.
A person CANNOT be stopped in order for the officer to find a reason to search them, the officer must have already established the reasonable suspicion before conducting the stop and must be able to explain this.
Failing to answer a constable’s questions is NOT grounds for reasonable suspicion (although in practice an officer may find a way to justify such a search).
A “hunch or instinct” is NOT grounds for reasonable suspicion.
A reasonable suspicion can NEVER be supported by protected factors such as a person’s race, religion, gender or sexuality.
A reasonable suspicion can NEVER be supported by personal factors such as a person having prior convictions or having been stopped by the same constable on a previous occasion.

If stopped and searched under PACE, a constable must make all efforts to notify the suspect of:
– The officers name and police station
– The object of the search – What thing they expect to find
– The grounds for the suspicion e.g. the suspect matches the description of a reported suspect or the officer sees the item
– That the suspect may receive a record of the search or where such a record can be obtained.
Should a constable fail to notify a suspect of such information then resisting the search is not grounds for a charge of obstructing a police officer; the search may also constitute an assault or battery against the suspect.

During a search a constable cannot order a suspect to remove any item of clothing that is not designated as ‘outer clothing’ unless the suspect is taken to a private place (this includes the back of a police van). Outer clothing is defined as:
– A coat or jacket
– Gloves
– A bag
– Hats
Pockets may be searched in public.
The suspect has the right to be searched by an officer of the same gender as themselves. Under section 3.1 of Code A, all searches MUST be carried out with courtesy, consideration and respect for the suspect, this means every reasonable effort must be made to reduce embarrassment.

Stop and search is a power which extends below the age of criminal responsibility, this therefore means that a child under the age of 10 may be searched by a police officer and there is no general duty to ensure an adult is present.

Under section 23 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (MODA), a police constable may temporarily detain any person who he reasonably suspects of possessing a controlled drug in order to carry out a search to find said items. This section also provides a constable with the power to search any vehicle for which he reasonably suspects contains any such drug.

A constable may seize and detain anything found in the course of the search which appears to be evidence under MODA e.g. any white powder, regardless of whether it is a drug or not, is likely to be seized.

The same principles relating to reasonable suspicion, notification and conduct during a search apply to searches under MODA.

Under section 43 of the Terrorism Act 2000, a police constable may temporarily detain any person who he reasonably suspects to be a terrorist in order to conduct a search to discover whether the suspect is in possession of anything which may prove he is a terrorist.

The same principles relating to reasonable suspicion, notification and conduct during a search apply to searches under the Terrorism Act.

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