Stop & Search Overview – Data to March 2018

Headlines

• Wiltshire recorded 1020 searches in the 12 months to March 2018, a decrease of 586 (36.4%) compared to the
previous year
• The volume of searches has decreased as well as the proportion of successful outcomes, reducing from 29.3% in
March 2017 to 25.8% in March 2018
• The proportion of BME community searches is 13.7%, which is greater than the current BME community proportion
(5%) of Wiltshire
• The positive outcome rate (arrests, cannabis warnings, fixed penalty notices, summons, local resolution) for the BME
community searches is 26.4%, compared to 25.8% for white person searches
• Just over two thirds of all stop searches in Wiltshire are for Drugs
• Those from a BME community group are 3.0 times more likely to be stopped than someone who is White, however
this reduces to 2.0 times more likely to be stopped for those that are resident in Wiltshire
• The arrest rate for those not resident in Wiltshire is significantly higher (23%), than the arrest rate for those that live
in Wiltshire (15%)

Stop & Search – Wiltshire Police Force Area – Year to March 2018

The following tables provide a breakdown of;

• number of searches including ethnicity detail
• rate of stop search per 1000 population by ethnicity
• number of resultant arrests or other outcomes by ethnic group
• Wiltshire residents and non-residents detail to better enable us to understand the impact of stop & search on those
that are resident in our communities
• Age and gender breakdown of searches across Wiltshire
 Other (inc. Not stated
Wiltshire - all searches Asian Black Mixed White
Chinese) / recorded
BME Total Total

Population - 2011 census 17379 6089 9794 642869 4006 - 37268 680137
Number of searches 41 72 26 814 1 66 140 1020
Searches per 1000 population 2.4 11.8 2.7 1.27 0.2 - 3.76 1.5
Disproportionality 1.9 9.3 2.1 - 0.2 - 3.0 -

Number of arrests 8 16 1 110 1 3 26 139

Arrest rate 20% 22% 4% 14% 100% 5% 19% 14%
Number of other outcomes 5 3 3 110 0 3 11 124
Positive outcome rate 32% 26% 15% 27% 100% 9% 26.4% 25.8%

Other (inc. Not stated

Wiltshire resident searches Asian Black Mixed White
Chinese) / recorded
BME Total Total

Population - 2011 census 17379 6089 9794 642869 4006 - 37268 680137
Number of searches 30 32 18 687 0 50 80 817
Searches per 1000 population 1.7 5.3 1.8 1.1 0.0 - 2.1 1.2
Disproportionality 1.6 4.9 1.7 - 0.0 - 2.0 -

Number of arrests 6 5 1 88 0 1 12 101

Arrest rate 20% 16% 6% 13% - 2% 15% 12%
Number of other outcomes 2 3 2 95 0 1 7 103
Positive outcome rate 27% 25% 17% 27% - 4% 24% 25%

Non Wiltshire resident Other (inc. Not stated

Asian Black Mixed White BME Total Total
searches Chinese) / recorded
Number of searches 11 40 8 127 1 16 60 203
Proportion of total searches 27% 56% 31% 16% 100% 24% 43% 20%

Number of arrests 2 11 0 22 1 2 14 38
Arrest rate 18% 28% 0% 17% 100% 13% 23% 19%
Number of other outcomes 3 0 1 15 0 1 4 20
Positive outcome rate 45% 28% 13% 29% 100% 19% 30% 29%

Not
Other (inc.
Age and Gender Asian Black Mixed White
Chinese)
Stated / BME Total Total
Recorded
Under 16 0 0 2 5 0 1 2 8
16 - 20 0 1 2 39 0 0 3 42
21 - 25 0 0 0 16 0 1 0 17
26 - 30 0 1 0 12 0 0 1 13
31 - 35 0 0 0 19 0 1 0 20
36 - 40 0 0 0 13 0 1 0 14
Female
41 - 45 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 6
46 - 50 0 0 0 2 0 2 0 4
51 - 55 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 4
56 - 60 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1
61+ 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 3
Not Recorded 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1
Female Total 0 2 4 121 0 6 6 133

Under 16 3 2 2 60 0 8 7 75
16 - 20 16 26 9 248 0 21 51 320
21 - 25 7 15 5 155 0 10 27 192
26 - 30 8 6 1 71 0 3 15 89
31 - 35 4 9 2 52 1 8 16 76
36 - 40 1 2 3 52 0 1 6 59
Male
41 - 45 1 3 0 23 0 4 4 31
46 - 50 0 5 0 20 0 3 5 28
51 - 55 0 0 0 5 0 2 0 7
56 - 60 1 0 0 4 0 0 1 5
61+ 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 2
Not Recorded 0 1 0 2 0 0 1 3
Male Total 41 70 22 693 1 60 134 887

Not Recorded Total 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

 Stop & Search – County and Swindon breakdown - Year to March 2018

• The tables below provide a breakdown into the searches that were conducted in Swindon & Wiltshire County areas
• Also included are tables to show the number of Wiltshire residents that were stopped and searched

Other (inc. Not stated

County - all searches Asian Black Mixed White
Chinese) / recorded
BME Total Total

Population - 2011 census 4968 3228 5568 454971 2246 - 16010 470981
Number of searches 11 29 12 541 1 34 53 628
Searches per 1000 population 2.2 9.0 2.2 1.2 0.4 - 3.3 1.3
Disproportionality 1.9 7.6 1.8 - 0.4 - 2.8 -

Number of arrests 2 7 1 72 1 1 11 84
Arrest rate 18% 24% 8% 13% 100% 3% 21% 13%
Number of other outcomes 0 1 3 90 0 2 4 96
Positive outcome rate 18% 28% 33% 30% 100% 9% 28% 29%

County - Wiltshire Other (inc. Not stated

Asian Black Mixed White BME Total Total
resident searches Chinese) / recorded

Population - 2011 census 4968 3228 5568 454971 2246 - 16010 470981
Number of searches 10 11 10 453 0 23 31 507
Searches per 1000 population 2.0 3.4 1.8 1.0 0.0 - 1.9 1.1
Disproportionality 2.0 3.4 1.8 - 0.0 - 1.9 -

Number of arrests 2 2 1 55 0 0 5 60
Arrest rate 20% 18% 10% 12% - 0% 16% 12%
Number of other outcomes 0 1 2 76 0 2 3 81
Positive outcome rate 20% 27% 30% 29% - 9% 26% 28%

Other (inc. Not stated

Swindon - all searches Asian Black Mixed White
Chinese) / recorded
BME Total Total

Population - 2011 census 12411 2861 4226 187898 1760 - 21258 209156
Number of searches 30 43 14 271 0 32 87 390
Searches per 1000 population 2.4 15.0 3.3 1.4 0.0 - 4.1 1.9
Disproportionality 1.7 10.4 2.3 - 0.0 - 2.8 -

Number of arrests 6 9 0 38 0 2 15 55
Arrest rate 20% 21% 0% 14% - 6% 17% 14%
Number of other outcomes 5 2 0 20 0 1 7 28
Positive outcome rate 37% 26% 0% 21% - 9% 25% 21%

Swindon - Wiltshire Other (inc. Not stated

Asian Black Mixed White BME Total Total
resident searches Chinese) / recorded

Population - 2011 census 12411 2861 4226 187898 1760 - 21258 209156
Number of searches 20 21 8 232 0 27 49 308
Searches per 1000 population 1.6 7.3 1.9 1.2 0.0 - 2.3 1.5
Disproportionality 1.1 5.1 1.3 - 0.0 - 1.9 -

Number of arrests 4 3 0 33 0 1 7 41
Arrest rate 20% 14% 0% 14% - 4% 14% 13%
Number of other outcomes 2 2 0 19 0 0 4 23
Positive outcome rate 30% 24% 0% 22% - 4% 22% 21%
 Disproportionality

• Disproportionality refers to a situation in which racial or ethnic groups are represented at a higher proportion than
other racial or ethnic groups. It looks at the relative ratios of those people stopped and searched as a proportion of
the resident population in the specified area (in this case Swindon or Wiltshire County)
• In the last year, we stopped 2.0 white people in every 1000 white residents, this compares to 6.14 for every 1000
BME residents; therefore someone from a BME group is 3.1 times more likely to be stopped than someone who is
white (calculated by dividing 6.14 by 2.0)
• As a police force we also assess the disproportionality of Stop & Search on those that live in Wiltshire in order to
understand the impact on our communities.
• If we were completely proportionate, all ethnic groups would have a value of 1 (the red line on the graph below)
• The graph shows closer proportionality when comparing all stop searches with Wiltshire resident searches, with BME
Wiltshire residents twice as likely to be stopped as white Wiltshire residents

Object of Searches and Legislation – Year to March 2018

• The graphs below detail the object that was searched for and the legislation under which the search was
performed.
• Just over two thirds of Wiltshire Police Stop searches are drug related
• Aside from searches for drugs, the main reasons for search are to locate stolen goods or offensive weapons and
identify any articles that could be used to commit an offence (such as a theft or criminal damage)
 Outcome of Searches – Year to March 2018

• The tables below show the outcome of searches – in 71% of searches nothing is found and no further action is
taken
• Where action is taken, the type of action is shown in the positive outcome chart below

Outcome of search linked to object of search – Year to March 2018

For searches where there was an outcome;

• The outcome of the search was linked to the object of the search in 89% of searches recorded since April 2017
• There was no link between the outcome and the object in 1 in 10 searches

National Comparison Data

• The tables below show the most recently available national comparison data. The Wiltshire position has changed
since 2015/16 and more recent data is not currently available to enable comparisons against the current position
• It is worth noting that data for each police force area is available through the police.uk website

National Comparison Data - 2015/16

National Rates 2015/16 England and Wales South West Region Wiltshire Wiltshire Current
Stop Searches per 1000 population 6.7 3.9 3.6 2.4
Arrest Rate 15.6% 12.5% 15.4% 17.3%

Not
Other (inc.
Arrest Rates by Ethnicity Asian Black Mixed White
Chinese)
Stated / Total
Recorded
England and Wales 14.8% 21.6% 19.7% 14.5% 16.6% 13.0% 15.6%
South West Region 2015/16 12.7% 19.9% 15.3% 12.2% 10.3% 8.4% 12.5%
Wiltshire 16.5% 29.1% 18.5% 14.5% 7.1% 12.5% 15.4%