Stop and Search - What are the powers of the police?
14 AUGUST 2025 10:25
Section 1 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984. The most important section which gives police power to stop and search people.
Reasonable Grounds -
The officer can only stop you if they have what is known as “reasonable suspicion” that you possess a prohibited article either on your person or in your vehicle
Reasonable suspicion: Usually gained from intelligence (evidence or someone has reported it)
Prohibited article: Weapons, drugs, stolen property etc.
What the 3 things an officer must tell you if you are stopped and searched -
1. reason for the stop
2. their name and station
3. a search receipt (if you ask)
If you believe you have been unlawfully stopped and searched – what can you do?
Do not run or resist, remember you are detained for the purpose of a search, not arrested. If you resist, they have grounds to arrest you immediately.
Just ask for the 3 steps above if they have not provided it already, and make sure to remember or if you can write down the details of the incident.
TV shows to the real world
Breaking bad fans will recall where the DEA agent was unable to enter the vehicle due to it being a private domicile. Well, UK law works in a very similar way. Section 1(4) of PACE states that stop and search powers don’t apply to a dwelling. So, if a UK officer suspected the RV was a mobile meth lab and a home, as long as they had permission to be on that land, then they couldn’t just search it under section 1; they’d need other legal authority, like a search warrant or the entry powers in section 17.
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