[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"stats-overview":3,"kb-article-pace-code-a-when-can-police-stop-and-search-you":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":49,"next":62},"28","pace-code-a-when-can-police-stop-and-search-you","When can the police stop and search you?","Most police powers to stop and search you need \"reasonable grounds for suspicion\". That means the officer must genuinely suspect they will find something specific — for example stolen goods, a weapon, drugs, or an item that could be used to commit a crime. The suspicion has to be based on facts, information, or intelligence about you in that situation.\n\nReasonable grounds can never be based on personal factors alone. Your race, age, appearance, the way you are dressed, or the fact that you have a previous conviction are not, on their own, reasons to search you. Generalisations or stereotypes about a group of people are also not enough.\n\nBefore searching you, the officer should take reasonable steps to find out (or confirm) what you may be carrying. A search must be a proportionate response to the suspicion — it is not a routine or random check.\n\nThere are some separate powers (for example under section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994) where an officer can search without reasonable suspicion, but only after a senior officer has authorised it for a specific area and time because of a risk of serious violence. These are the exception, not the norm.\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 1.1–2.11","OGL v3.0",10,true,"2026-06-22T11:50:16.000Z","PACE Code A – Stop & Search","mdi:account-search","pace-code-a-stop-and-search","Most police powers to stop and search you need \"reasonable grounds for suspicion\". That means the officer must genuinely suspect they will find something…",218,2,[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},"29","pace-code-a-what-an-officer-must-tell-you-before-a-search","What must an officer tell you before a stop and search?",20,"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,{"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":20,"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}]