One in five stop and searches in England and Wales were carried out on children last year, figures show
- 107,800 stop and searches out of 529,500 were carried out on those under 18
One in five stop and searches by police in England and Wales last year were carried out on children, figures show.
According to Home Office statistics, police conducted 529,500 stop and searches in the year to March.
Just over 107,800 were on those aged under 18, including 64 searches on children under, meaning searches on under-18s made up 20 per cent of last year’s total.
That is up from 18 per cent the year before and 17 per cent in 2020-21, when forces first began recording the ages of people stopped and searched.
Human rights charity Liberty said the rising proportion of searches on children is worrying.
One in five stop and searches by police in England and Wales last year were carried out on children, figures show (file image)
People aged 18 to 24 accounted for 30 per cent of searches, 25 to 29-year-olds made up 12 per cent and those aged over 30 were 34 per cent. The remainder did not have an age recorded by police.
READ MORE: Suella Braverman urges police to ‘ramp up’ stop and searches to stamp out knife crime on Britain’s streets
The total number of stops and searches, including those in vehicles, increased 3 per cent on the previous year.
Akiko Hart, Liberty interim director, said: ‘We heard in the Casey Review how police officers are ‘rude or uncivil’ and use ‘excessive force’ on children during searches, leaving them scared and humiliated.’
The Casey Review into misconduct in the Met Police earlier this year called for an action plan on reforming stop and search practices, including strip-searches of children.
Ms Hart said: ‘This Government is failing our young people by stripping away the support that they need and using the police to try and cover the cracks. But stop and search only worsens division and alienation in our communities.
‘The Government must reverse cuts to youth services and invest in solutions that tackle the root causes of violence and harm. We all deserve to go about our lives without fear of being harassed or targeted.’
According to Home Office statistics, police conducted 529,500 stop and searches in the year to March (stock image)
She added that the figures showed the police were ‘unfairly targeting black people’ with stops and searches.
The data reveals black people were 5.5 times more likely than white people to be stopped and searched last year. It is a fall from 2021-22, when black people were 6.2 times as likely to be searched.
A Home Office spokesman said: ‘Nobody should be stopped and searched because of their ethnicity, and it is encouraging to see racial disparities in stop and search use fall in the past year.’
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