Most stop and search powers can only be used when an officer has "reasonable grounds for suspicion" that you are carrying something specific: drugs, a weapon, stolen property, or an item that could be used to commit a crime. The rule exists so that an officer has to point to an objective reason for stopping you, not just a feeling that you "looked suspicious".
The test, and where it comes from
The main power is section 1 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE), with similar powers in the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and the Firearms Act 1968. How officers must apply them is set out in PACE Code A, which is binding guidance.
Code A says reasonable grounds have two parts:
- The officer must genuinely suspect they will find the item they are looking for.
- That suspicion must be based on facts, information or intelligence, or on the way you are behaving, that a reasonable person would also find suspicious.
Examples that can count include a description of a suspect that you match, intelligence about you or the location, seeing you hide something as officers approach, or the smell of cannabis combined with other factors. A single factor on its own is often weak; officers are expected to weigh the whole picture.
What can never be a reason on its own
Code A is explicit that reasonable grounds cannot be based on personal factors alone. The following are not grounds to search you:
- Your race, ethnicity, religion, age, gender or how you are dressed.
- The fact that you have previous convictions or are known to the police.
- Being in a "high crime" area, by itself.
- Refusing to answer questions or to account for yourself (see our guide to stop and account).
- Generalisations or stereotypes about a group of people.
Being in a high-crime area, or with someone who is suspected, can be part of the picture, but there has to be something about you and your situation that adds to it.
Searches without suspicion
There is one well-known exception. Under section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, an officer of at least inspector rank can authorise searches without reasonable suspicion in a defined area for up to 24 hours (extendable to 48) where serious violence is anticipated or weapons are being carried. If you are searched under section 60 the officer should tell you so. Similar no-suspicion powers exist under terrorism legislation.
Why this matters
Home Office statistics on stop and search, published every year, have consistently shown that Black people are stopped and searched several times more often than White people relative to population, and that most searches find nothing. The reasonable suspicion requirement is one of the main safeguards against unconscious bias and discriminatory policing, which is why proposals to water it down attract strong criticism. Every search should be recorded, and forces are expected to monitor and explain disparities to community scrutiny panels.
If you think a search was unjustified
Ask for the search record, or how to get a copy; you are entitled to one if you ask within three months. Note the officer's name or number and whether body-worn video was running. You can complain to the force, or ask your local community scrutiny panel to review the search. Where a search was clearly unlawful, you may also have a civil claim.
This is general information for England and Wales, not legal advice. If you have been arrested or charged, speak to a solicitor: advice at the police station is free for everyone.