The Home Office Stop and Search Manual was published in 2005. It was based on the work of the Home Office Stop and Search Action Team (SSAT) which was set up to help ensure that the police use the stop and search power fairly and as effectively as possible to prevent and detect crime.

The aim of the manual is to build on guidance already issued as well as identifying good practice. Its purpose is to set out for the benefit of police forces and police authorities:

• the powers of stop and search that are available to the police and how they should be exercised;
• the responsibility to record stops and to give a record to the person stopped (this is about accountability, not bureaucracy, and should not be a long drawn out process);
• concerns surrounding the disproportionate use of stop and search powers against black and minority ethnic communities and what can be done to address these; and
• research and good practice findings.

All forces and police authorities are encouraged to use the guidance and good practice in the manual to inform their local stop and search practices and to engage effectively with all communities.

Click here to download the Home Office Stop and Search Manual.