§ Mr. Bernie GrantTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were stopped and searched in each police authority in each quarter since 1990; for what reasons these searches were carried out; in how many cases an arrest was made; and if he will provide an ethnic breakdown of those stopped and searched.
§ Mr. MacleanThe readily available information is published in Home Office statistical bulletin "Operation of certain police powers under PACE, England and Wales 1993"—issue 15/94—table 1, a copy of which can be found in the Library. The bulletin references for earlier years are 14/91, 15/92, and 21/93.
Quarterly data in the form requested would be available only at disproportionate cost.
The available statistics on ethnic breakdown of those stopped and searched relate to the fiscal year 1993–94 and are given in the table. The data should be treated with caution. This is the first time that this information has been collected. Two forces could not provide the data and a further five forces had to provide an estimate.
843W
Searches of persons under section 1 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 by ethnic group Searches made: of ethnic minority Police force area of white persons persons Avon and Somerset 3,657 282 Bedfordshire 1,381 324 Cambridgeshire 2,480 179 Cheshire 502 5 Cleveland 2,240 31 Cumbria 3,954 30 Derbyshire 3,313 149 Devon and Cornwall 947 11 Dorset 1,640 — Durham 1,430 14 1Essex 4,182 136 Gloucestershire 2— 2— Greater Manchester 38.376 4,134 Hampshire 2,515 53 Hertfordshire 3,807 351 1Humberside 1,063 26 Kent 3,550 103 1Lancashire 6,432 462 Leicestershire 10,378 1,414 Lincolnshire 2,280 18 London, City of 1,611 500 Merseyside 15,075 662
Searches of persons under section 1 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 by ethnic group Searches made: of ethnic minority Police force area of white persons persons Metropolitan Police District 132,565 95,751 Norfolk 6,410 53 Northamptonshire 2,840 137 Northumbria 8,064 70 North Yorkshire 2,253 25 Nottinghamshire 1,817 175 South Yorkshire 5,054 404 Staffordshire 1,567 106 Suffolk 2,016 91 Surrey 12,544 870 1Sussex 4,118 213 Thames Valley 3,817 615 Warwickshire 3,138 219 West Mercia 7,500 366 1West Midlands 4,098 1,927 West Yorkshire 2,636 386 Wiltshire 1,534 71 Dyfed-Powys 7,720 37 Gwent 2,087 110 North Wales 8,792 12 South Wales 2— 2— 1= estimated 2= not available
§ Mr. Bernie GrantTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if information relating to stop and search incidents where no arrest is made is stored on police computers.
§ Mr. MacleanA written record must be made of all stop and searches by police officers whether or not an arrest is made. The method of retention of such records is a matter for the chief officer of the force concerned.