What to do if you are Stopped & Searched
This section of the Lancashire Police Authority website gives you all the information you need to know about the rights you have if you are stopped and / or searched by a police officer.
A change in the law means that every time an individual is stopped by a police officer and asked to account for their actions, a record should be made and given to that person, as part of new Government guidance.
At present, a record need only be made when an individual is stopped and searched but the new guidance developed by the Lawrence Steering Group, means that in the future, a record should be made and a copy given each time a person is stopped by a police officer, irrespective of whether they are then searched, unless there are exceptional circumstances.
The stop and account procedure is used by police forces across the country to prevent and detect particular types of crime and to try to make communities safer places.
The aim of the change in recording is to ensure that the often controversial procedure is more transparent and accountable. It will also help police authorities and forces to monitor stop and account activity more clearly and improve public confidence.
There has been criticism elsewhere in the country that the new legislation will mean police officers having to carry more forms and spend more time filling them in but in Lancashire, existing forms have been re-designed to minimize this.
Lancashire has implemented a new recording procedure since 14th February 2005. If you are stopped and asked to account for your actions the police officer should record on a form certain information which is shown in the 'When You Are Stopped' section. You will then be entitled to a copy of this record.
Part of the role of the Authority is to gain the views of local people who have been stopped by the police and either asked to account for themselves and/or have been searched. Their views and opinions can then be fed into the monitoring and scrutiny process that the Authority undertakes. Complete our Stop and Search Questionnaire
