Rise in stop and search in West Mercia with fewer arrests, figures show
West Mercia Police conducted over 1,200 more stop and searches last year though fewer led to an arrest, new figures show.
By Lisa O'Brien
Published
Home Office data shows officers used stop and search powers 6,042 times in the year to March – up from 4,785 the year before.
Despite this rise, the proportion of searches which led to an arrest fell from 18 to 13 per cent over this period.
Three in five stops were for drugs, which was up slightly on the previous year.
Police bosses say stop and search is a "vital tool" to protect people from harm and stops are carried out in line with rules and on "reasonable grounds".
It comes as StopWatch UK claims the vast majority of searches cause more problems than they solve.
