[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"stats-overview":3,"kb-article-pace-code-a-what-an-officer-must-tell-you-before-a-search":10},{"officers":4,"forces":5,"courts":6,"prisons":7,"hearings":8,"legals":9},769,50,224,120,41,11437,{"id":11,"slug":12,"name":13,"content":14,"category_id":15,"source":16,"source_url":17,"source_ref":18,"licence":19,"sort_order":20,"published":21,"created_at":22,"updated_at":22,"category":23,"category_icon":24,"category_slug":25,"excerpt":26,"word_count":27,"reading_time":28,"is_official":21,"related":29,"previous":62,"next":63},"29","pace-code-a-what-an-officer-must-tell-you-before-a-search","What must an officer tell you before a stop and search?","Before searching you (or as soon as practicable), the officer must give you certain information. Officers are trained to remember it using the word \"GOWISELY\".\n\nG – Grounds: the reason they are searching you.\nO – Object: what they are looking for.\nW – Warrant card: if the officer is not in uniform, they must show it.\nI – Identity: the officer's name (or, in some cases, an identification number) and...\nS – Station: ...the police station they are attached to.\nE – Entitlement: that you are entitled to a copy of the search record.\nL – Legal power: the law that gives them the power to search you.\nY – You are detained for the purpose of a search.\n\nThe officer should also tell you that you can ask for a copy of the search record, and how to get it. You have a right to that record (within three months) whether or not anything is found.\n\nIf you do not understand, or English is not your first language, the officer should take reasonable steps to make sure you understand what is happening and why.\n\nThis is a plain-English summary. For the exact rules, read the official PACE Code A.","11","PACE Code A (2023)","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gov.uk\u002Fgovernment\u002Fpublications\u002Fpace-code-a-2023","Code A, paras 3.8–3.11 (GOWISELY)","OGL v3.0",20,true,"2026-06-22T11:50:16.000Z","PACE Code A – Stop & Search","mdi:account-search","pace-code-a-stop-and-search","Before searching you (or as soon as practicable), the officer must give you certain information. Officers are trained to remember it using the word…",201,2,[30,37,45,56],{"id":31,"slug":32,"name":33,"source":16,"source_url":17,"sort_order":34,"category":23,"category_icon":24,"category_slug":25,"excerpt":35,"word_count":36,"reading_time":28,"is_official":21},"28","pace-code-a-when-can-police-stop-and-search-you","When can the police stop and search you?",10,"Most police powers to stop and search you need \"reasonable grounds for suspicion\". That means the officer must genuinely suspect they will find something…",218,{"id":38,"slug":39,"name":40,"source":16,"source_url":17,"sort_order":41,"category":23,"category_icon":24,"category_slug":25,"excerpt":42,"word_count":43,"reading_time":44,"is_official":21},"30","pace-code-a-removing-clothing-during-a-stop-and-search","Can the police make you remove clothing in a stop and search?",30,"In public, an officer carrying out an ordinary stop and search can only ask you to remove your outer coat, jacket and gloves. They cannot require you to take…",172,1,{"id":46,"slug":47,"name":48,"source":49,"source_url":49,"sort_order":50,"category":51,"category_icon":24,"category_slug":52,"excerpt":53,"word_count":54,"reading_time":34,"is_official":55},"19","stop-and-search-police-powers","Stop and search: what the police can and can't do",null,0,"Stop and Search","stop-and-search","Police in England and Wales can stop and search you in public only if they have a legal power to do so, and in almost every case they need reasonable grounds…",1843,false,{"id":57,"slug":58,"name":59,"source":49,"source_url":49,"sort_order":50,"category":51,"category_icon":24,"category_slug":52,"excerpt":60,"word_count":61,"reading_time":28,"is_official":55},"20","stop-and-question-police-powers","Stop and account: do you have to answer police questions?","A police officer can approach you at any time and ask who you are, what you are doing or where you are going. This is often called \"stop and account\". It is…",372,{"slug":32,"name":33},{"slug":39,"name":40}]