Police and law
What is a stop and account?
A stop and account is when a police officer stops you in a public place and asks you to account for yourself and may ask you:
- What you’re doing
- Where you’ve been
- Where you’re going
- What you’re carrying
You do not have to answer any questions the police officer asks if you do not want to. You have the right to remain silent and walk away.
However, if the police believe that you have behaved in an antisocial way – likely to cause harassment, alarm, or distress – they can ask you for your name and address, and it is a criminal offence if you refuse to tell them or if you give them the wrong name and address.
Can the police stop and search me?
A police officer can stop and search an individual if they have ‘reasonable grounds’ to suspect they are carrying:
- Illegal drugs
- A dangerous or offensive weapon or corrosive substance
- Stolen property
- Something which could be used to commit a crime, like a crowbar
- Evidence related to certain crimes
What must happen before I am searched?
There is information that a police officer must tell you before you are searched:
- Their name and police station
- What they expect to find, for example, drugs
- The reason they want to search you, for example, it looks like you’re hiding something
- Why they are legally allowed to search you
- That you can have a record of the search and, if this isn’t possible at the time, how you can get a copy
Do I have to remove clothing?
You can be asked to remove your jacket or gloves by a police officer. The police can only strip search you if they reasonably believe:
- You have hidden an item that you should not have, and
- They believe it is necessary to remove that item.
When the police strip search someone, it’s usually when they have arrested that person. But you don’t need to have been arrested to be strip searched. You can request an ‘appropriate adult’ to attend and the strip search must take place in an area where you cannot be seen by anyone else.
If the police officer requests that you remove any item worn for religious reasons, such as a turban or veil, they must take you away from public view.