Policing Board – Stop and Search Review

In previous posts, I have been critical of aspects of the use of stop and search powers by the PSNI [1, 2]. Problems that I pointed out included:

• the very low arrest rate of approximately 5% arising from stop searches
• that at times, in some areas, the arrest rate was below 1%
• that searches under Police and Criminal Evidence legislation is drive by searches for drugs
• the stopping and searching of children as young as 1-year-old

Therefore, the recent release of the Northern Ireland Policing Board’s Thematic Review on stop and search was welcome [3].