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
22,134
Sep 2026 · across 28 forces
Verified against source, 6 November 2026, 07:01 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 | 12,506 |
| Not recorded | 3,308 |
| Offensive weapons | 2,435 |
| Stolen goods | 1,480 |
| Article for use in theft | 1,400 |
| Articles for use in criminal damage | 308 |
| Evidence of offences under the Act | 275 |
| Firearms | 177 |
| Anything to threaten or harm anyone | 84 |
| Fireworks | 72 |
| Game or poaching equipment | 29 |
| Detailed object of search unavailable | 21 |
| Psychoactive substances | 18 |
| Evidence of wildlife offences | 17 |
| Goods on which duty has not been paid etc. | 4 |
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
- 6 November 2026, 06:56 UTC
- Raw files fetched
- https://data.police.uk/api/crimes-street-datesSHA-256 07a2302748defdf669add4e11c8d46a67d4c727062a4c71b33a41cabc8596580 · 20,915 bytes
- https://data.police.uk/api/stops-force?force=avon-and-somerset&date=2026-09SHA-256 7e460c9f0d208457be30b0a682b9b16184c32dc9369fd95f4ff9050dd3bd279d · 344,942 bytes
- https://data.police.uk/api/stops-force?force=btp&date=2026-09SHA-256 0ed490eaca37fb9a4b0d8de8a11c94f8879a02a4d44e5ee623b7bc45641b9f53 · 619,717 bytes
- https://data.police.uk/api/stops-force?force=cambridgeshire&date=2026-09SHA-256 cd595d3763fd10b9efc92d481cd7027269ca0d94c2f043ac50a4713b010e0021 · 135,777 bytes
- https://data.police.uk/api/stops-force?force=cheshire&date=2026-09SHA-256 fc7fce483db5e3c6620b245bf0239898718e47772b062b0b0c5e5cc61f0ca50c · 691,115 bytes
- https://data.police.uk/api/stops-force?force=city-of-london&date=2026-09SHA-256 d0ca8cdc28b3a43fbb52d35bec708953eb97828dcfda6be392180c5f0129050c · 73,074 bytes
- https://data.police.uk/api/stops-force?force=cumbria&date=2026-09SHA-256 bf85e3942bd171b7fb0727a8ec04a9a84a6962017a04351b7f80f2414482ce0c · 405,989 bytes
- https://data.police.uk/api/stops-force?force=derbyshire&date=2026-09SHA-256 c845b6698e40acb153e229d3637de5fdf96a36a0dcf89d49509709a2896e94fe · 297,075 bytes
- https://data.police.uk/api/stops-force?force=devon-and-cornwall&date=2026-09SHA-256 f0bbcd82e26192e10515ed5b0187617b336a3622f64981b5835727d4728ccd25 · 421,213 bytes
- https://data.police.uk/api/stops-force?force=dorset&date=2026-09SHA-256 c0022485dc15afb86b645eda648f880f87372ec41efb1f458078f72de5a0936c · 109,133 bytes
- https://data.police.uk/api/stops-force?force=durham&date=2026-09SHA-256 f33c108e6956ed3fded932d9137643630221a1cec15e520954fdfb0c50f13b2c · 160,149 bytes
- https://data.police.uk/api/stops-force?force=essex&date=2026-09SHA-256 aab84b33888cf5c722f556faff516673894bd76454ccf89e28180d11dced98d3 · 773,195 bytes
- https://data.police.uk/api/stops-force?force=hampshire&date=2026-09SHA-256 187ea1c7a34c55e466f4e029c14d640ddf742bfbf9a9393d9fbab0ff61e4c7ae · 929,939 bytes
- https://data.police.uk/api/stops-force?force=hertfordshire&date=2026-09SHA-256 aac4983a4bd50f12d6a614e8d305b2ba95c7db37aeecc4a6bb46ab1f8aa80bad · 470,488 bytes
- https://data.police.uk/api/stops-force?force=kent&date=2026-09SHA-256 cf38570f6c988c78a28ac44db2a490848945a5a4b848dae31b10b8171e52b1ff · 1,003,685 bytes
- https://data.police.uk/api/stops-force?force=lancashire&date=2026-09SHA-256 b1057e462b55aa608deb3cb022735c01342aa5943b3c118d14319261695d8379 · 1,270,760 bytes
- https://data.police.uk/api/stops-force?force=leicestershire&date=2026-09SHA-256 468a43e36e3deea4cc40238b29044df703f9e73010c3e63cc532efb39b41e528 · 331,645 bytes
- https://data.police.uk/api/stops-force?force=merseyside&date=2026-09SHA-256 122700efaf1d3d755e221c496d2abcc7d005a5070d3cd0ac8f533a7b9f26272c · 2,670,740 bytes
- https://data.police.uk/api/stops-force?force=north-wales&date=2026-09SHA-256 3cc966fcdd68b5e8a2fb94c471ab9003fcf913da14d70f987dd85d11c045f5e6 · 229,207 bytes
- https://data.police.uk/api/stops-force?force=northamptonshire&date=2026-09SHA-256 b3b4d3a4cd84fdfd0f6d3ac7f5b787040e0d4c3b9d6e3b92bc3de7ff9475b5a9 · 172,859 bytes
- https://data.police.uk/api/stops-force?force=northumbria&date=2026-09SHA-256 43f7259856c7417127b0ed067065ee981b2687d7d2ca9d5f32a0bc9d6e93f036 · 297,366 bytes
- https://data.police.uk/api/stops-force?force=south-yorkshire&date=2026-09SHA-256 6096c690c780df54a67d432a41afb5dc8f92aef411e484b3dacbc2b40be5b4c6 · 545,903 bytes
- https://data.police.uk/api/stops-force?force=staffordshire&date=2026-09SHA-256 bf953428f6c0414963d283e4e5e7f41e3760c931965e63a3b58a6cb31c4a5a99 · 364,527 bytes
- https://data.police.uk/api/stops-force?force=surrey&date=2026-09SHA-256 140e828d62368057976c00d5cfc21cf68cf38e69e534bf593c7220057fdddd89 · 228,120 bytes
- https://data.police.uk/api/stops-force?force=thames-valley&date=2026-09SHA-256 3b5c0f3208a8c94fc338a0432f89bf97a956d5d03aa545c59d1b19bf632c606c · 937,362 bytes
- https://data.police.uk/api/stops-force?force=warwickshire&date=2026-09SHA-256 eeb6781704b41345d2b27d0bc460715a33228aa908c8ffb061921ab7ab71bce1 · 51,800 bytes
- https://data.police.uk/api/stops-force?force=west-mercia&date=2026-09SHA-256 2fba7d08ac537a27932f0813d1cde8955fcffe1ee4ecbf5c009af2834281f0ea · 185,545 bytes
- https://data.police.uk/api/stops-force?force=west-yorkshire&date=2026-09SHA-256 61896f5c4fe35e0cac719d0935991303b9a38b68d191a65443d73428e607d40a · 990,667 bytes
- https://data.police.uk/api/stops-force?force=wiltshire&date=2026-09SHA-256 912b689062fe27c9ba93bc366029b873172d41e14e6a8396e7c363ee576812c2 · 117,429 bytes
Verification
Verified against source, 6 November 2026, 07:01 UTC Run at 6 November 2026, 07:01 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 2026-11-06T06:56:21Z; 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.