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Stop and Search

Volume 461: debated on Tuesday 12 June 2007

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many stop and searches were carried out by police under Section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000 in each year since the Act’s introduction; and how many and what percentage of those searches resulted in an arrest. (140774)

Information on stop and searches and resultant arrests under section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000 from 2001-02 to 2004-05 (latest available) is given in the following table.

2005-06 data will be available later this year.

Searches of vehicles1 and occupants, and pedestrians under section 44 of the Terrorism Act 20002 and resultant arrests3, England and Wales, 2001-02 to 2004-05

Stop and searches in order to prevent acts of terrorism

Total searches

Resultant arrests3

Percentage of arrests

2001-02

10,200

189

2

2002-03

32,100

380

1

2003-04

33,800

491

1

2004-05

35,800

455

1

1 Searches may be conducted on vehicles only, occupants only or both may be searched. Where a vehicle and driver occupier are searched simultaneously the search is recorded against the driver (occupant). Any other passengers searched are recorded as occupants.

2 The Terrorism Act 2000 came into force on 19 February 2001.

3 Includes arrests under the Terrorism Act, arrests for terrorist related matters and other serious crimes.

Note:

Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by police officers. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.