We stop, we search, we catch criminals, we keep people safe
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In the last year (to the end of March 2024) officers have made more than 2,000 arrests, as a result of the effective use of stop and search powers.
Stop and search is one of a range of powers that helps us prevent crime, protect the public and keep people safe. It remains a key tool in reducing crime and provides valuable intelligence to officers to tackle local issues.
In the first month of this year alone, we have been able to seize more than 30 weapons across the county. This has included knives as well as drugs such as cannabis and nitrous oxide.
Without utilising the power of stop and search, individuals suspected of having participated in or are about to commit a crime would potentially evade justice. We would then be faced with a much tougher challenge on our streets.
Building trust and confidence with our communities
Essex Police lead for Stop and Search, Superintendent Phil Stinger said:
“We want to continue to build trust and confidence in our communities by exercising our stop and search powers in the fairest way; to be open and transparent about our processes and to continually learn and improve by equipping our officers will the skills and training required to conduct searches professionally, for the benefit of our communities.
“By continuing to use this power effectively means there is less criminality and a significant reduction in drugs and weapons within our communities, keeping our county even safer.”
Officers have a responsibility to conduct all searches in a fair, respectable and effective manner; to identify themselves and inform the individual being stopped, why they’re being stopped and on what grounds - as well as giving them the opportunity to feedback on their individual experiences.
We value our communities
For further information about stop and search please visit our We Value our Communities page.
We routinely publish our stop and search data. We invite the public to independently review and discuss our stop and search procedures through our scrutiny panels. We bring learnings back to improve our processes.