NCJ Number
185466
Editor(s)
Carole F. Willis
Date Published
2000
Length
83 pages
Annotation
This report considers the role of stops and searches in policing, the effectiveness of searches against crime and their impact on the community.
Abstract
The research draws in part on statistics collected by the U.K. Home Office and literature from Britain and the United States. While searches play some role in fighting crime and lead to about one-tenth of arrests nationally, they appear to have only a small impact on the detection and prevention of recorded or reported crime. Searches tend to have a negative impact on public confidence in the police. Bad feeling results, at least in part, from a perception by individuals stopped and searched that police officers are not polite and do not provide adequate explanations for stopping them. There is, however, in principle support for both stops and searches, provided they are used properly. The report recommends ways by which police can minimize the negative impact on community confidence of stops and searches while maximizing their effectiveness against crime. It emphasizes the efficient and targeted use of searches based on intelligence and high levels of suspicion and focusing on more serious crimes and more prolific offenders. Tables, figures, boxes, notes, references, appendix