Stop and Search
(asked on 19th June 2023) - View Source
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many stop and searches per 1,000 people by ethnicity were recorded in England in 2021-22.
The Home Office collects and publishes data on the ethnicity of people stopped and searched in England and Wales on an annual basis. The latest data are available here: Update to stop and search and arrests statistics using 2021 Census estimates - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Table 1 below shows how many searches per 1,000 people by ethnicity were recorded in England and Wales in 2021-22. Population data used to calculate the rates are from the 2021 Census.
Table 1 – stop and searches per 1,000 people by ethnicity in 2021-22, England and Wales
| Self-defined ethnicity | ||||
| White | Black or Black British | Asian or Asian British | Other Ethnic Group | Mixed |
Rate per 1,000 people - England | 5.5 | 26.7 | 8.8 | 6.7 | 9.3 |
Rate per 1,000 people - Wales | 5.3 | 17.7 | 5.4 | 6.6 | 6.8 |
The Home Office have explored using different denominators to calculate stop and search disparity rates. Within the Metropolitan Police Force area using suspects of violent crime reduced disparity rates for black people from 3.7 to 1.2. Further details are here: Exploration of an alternative approach to calculating stop and search rates in the Metropolitan Police Force Area – Experimental Statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
We continue to work to refine and enhance stop and search statistics, and reflect the fact searches tends to be concentrated in geographical areas with high crime.