Cheshire Constabulary
About this force
| Area | 200 square miles |
|---|---|
| Recording stop and account? | No |
| Force website | Visit website |
About the PCC in this area
| Police & Crime Commissioner | David Keane (Labour) |
|---|---|
| PCC website | Visit website |
How many searches do police do?
April 2016 – March 2017
The police conducted 2,676 stop and searches under PACE Section 1 across the area covered by Cheshire Constabulary.
This was a reduction of 55% from the previous year.
There were 0 stop and searches under Section 60 Criminal Justice & Public Order Act, a power which doesn’t require individual reasonable suspicion.
April 2015 – March 2016
The police conducted 5,891 stop and searches under PACE Section 1 across the area covered by Cheshire Constabulary.
This was a reduction of 37% from the previous year.
There were 1 stop and searches under Section 60 Criminal Justice & Public Order Act, a power which doesn’t require individual reasonable suspicion.
This was a reduction of 95% from the previous year.
Stop and account
Cheshire Constabulary do not record stop and accounts.
What are searches targeted at?
| Target | Proportion of searches |
|---|---|
| Drugs | 73% |
| Stolen property | 9% |
| Going equipped | 9% |
| Offensive weapons | 6% |
| Other | 2% |
| Criminal damage | 1% |
| Firearms | 1% |
How effective are police stop and searches?
A staggering 73% of all searches across Cheshire in 2016/17 was for drugs rather than directed serious or violent crimes e.g. firearms or offensive weapons. This means that this police force is one of the highest searching constabularies for drugs; most of these searches are for low level possession (predominantely cannabis) rather than being directed towards drug dealers or suppliers.
April 2016 – March 2017
8% of stop and searches conducted under PACE Section 1 lead to an arrest.
April 2015 – March 2016
12% of stop and searches conducted under PACE Section 1 lead to an arrest.
Who is getting searched?
Despite the overall reduction in recorded searches across Cheshire for the financial year 2016/17, black people were searched at almost four and a half times the rate of whites that year and people from mixed backgrounds were searched at just over double the rate of whites. People from Chinese or other minority groups were searched at the same rate as whites and Asians were the only group to be searched less than the rate of whites.
There was no person searched under section 60, a power that does not require officers to have any suspicion that a person is involved in criminality before detaining them for a search. In 2015/16, there was only one recorded use of the power.
PACE disproportionality ratios
| Ethnic groups | Ratio |
|---|---|
| White : Black | 1 : 4.4 |
| White : Asian | 1 : 0.7 |
| White : Mixed | 1 : 2.1 |
| White : Other | 1 : 1.0 |