HC Deb 02 March 1990 vol 168 c361W
Mr. William Ross

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many dwellings have been searched by the security forces in each year since 1968.

Mr. Cope

[holding answer 21 February 1990]: The available information on searches of premises under section 15 of the Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Act 1978 is as follows:

Army RUC
year Occupied Unoccupied
1984 n/a n/a n/a
1985 104 58 n/a
1986 137 41 1,818
1987 393 72 2,474
1988 751 278 4,136
1989
1st quarter 217 89 1,144
2nd quarter 115 79 559

Most searches involve both the Army and RUC and are registered in their respective records. Both figures therefore are shown separately since there is an element of double counting.