New figures from Devon and Cornwall Police reveal the number of stop and searches performed by the force over a 12-month period to March 2024.

Stop and search is a police power used when an officer has reasonable grounds to suspect that someone is carrying one or more prohibited items or items that could be used to commit a crime. It is primarily used to prevent crime and violence.

The following summary provides an insight into the stop and search reports submitted by officers, but does not offer a full account of the incidents themselves. Figures may be rounded, meaning some totals may not sum to exactly 100 per cent.

Police in Devon and Cornwall conducted 6,147 stop and searches in the year to March 2024, with drugs-related suspicions driving 65 per cent of all interventions.

Key findings

  • 34 per cent of stops resulted in positive outcomes, including arrests or the seizure of prohibited items.
  • 65 per cent of stops led to no further action, while 18 per cent resulted in arrest and 8 per cent in community resolutions.
  • In 27 per cent of cases, officers found the object they expected.
  • 65 per cent of all stops were for drugs, followed by 17 per cent for offensive weapons and 7 per cent for stolen property.
  • Young adults aged 18–25 accounted for 25 per cent of all stops (1,518), while minors aged 11–17 represented 19 per cent (1,153).
  • 78 per cent of those stopped were male, 19 per cent female, and 3 per cent (190) where the subject's sex was unknown. There were also 10 records (0 per cent) where no sex was recorded.

No vehicle-only stops were recorded during this period.

Demographic disparities

The report reveals discrepancies in how race is recorded, the report assumes this was due to the Mixed option not being available for officers to select:

  • 86 per cent of subjects self-identified as White, while officers perceived 93 per cent to be White.
  • 2 per cent of individuals self-identified as Black, compared with 3 per cent in officer perceptions.
  • 1 per cent self-identified as Asian and 2 per cent as Mixed ethnicity; however, "Mixed" was not an available option for officers to select.
  • 1 per cent self-identified as from other ethnic groups.
  • 8 per cent of subjects either declined to state their race or had it recorded as unknown.

Officer-perceived categories also included Chinese, Japanese, South East Asian, Arabic and North African, grouped under "Other."

Geographic hotspots

The breakdown of stop and search activity by policing area showed:

Plymouth accounted for the highest number of stops (29 per cent, 1,652).

Exeter, East and Mid Devon followed with 26 per cent (1,293), and South Devon with 21 per cent (1,313).

Lower levels were recorded in East Cornwall (10 per cent), North and West Devon (7 per cent), and West Cornwall (6 per cent).

Just one stop was recorded as being outside the force area.

In 90 cases (1 per cent), no local policing area (LPA) was recorded.

Data quality issues

The force acknowledged continuing challenges with data quality. The rollout of a new computer system in November 2022 led to a minority of incomplete records. An investigation is ongoing, and controls have been introduced to improve data accuracy.