Legal Update: In a Nutshell - Police stop and search powers on young people

What are the stop and search powers?

Police may stop and search a person or their vehicle before making an arrest, and this includes children. The police can stop and search people under the PACE Code of Practice A contained in the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1985, as well as the less-frequently employed section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 - only capable of being used by a senior officer.

Neither instrument provides any specific guidelines for dealing with children. The only protection is contained in the Children Act 2004, which provides that the police are under a general duty to work with local partners to safeguard and promote the wellbeing of children.

On what grounds may a child be stopped?

Under the PACE Code A, there is a requirement of reasonable suspicion in order to stop someone. The reasonable suspicion must be of something, it cannot simply be that a person is in a high crime area or has a "suspicious appearance". The Criminal Justice and Police Order Act 1994 does not require an element of suspicion.

What privacy protection is offered to children?

With regards to privacy and strip searches, again there are no specific guidelines for children, nor is there education for children on what their rights are in scenarios in which they may be asked to remove clothing.

In public, the police may only ask individuals to remove outer clothing - for example, a jacket or coat, or can ask individuals to turn their pockets inside out as an alternative to being patted down.

Anything more requires more private locations and strip searches may only be carried out in a police station or similarly designated area.

What problems have arisen in this area?

Despite the minimum age of criminal responsibility being set at 10 years, the report found that more than 1,000 searches have been carried out on children aged 10 and under for fear that they were being used as drug carriers.

Similar to the figures for adults, the data appeared to show that stop and search powers are being used disproportionately on black and ethnic minority children.

Given the high number of children and young people stopped and searched - which has totalled more than one million - insufficient guidelines and advice is offered in safeguarding children and child protection.

For children who are detained overnight, the report also revealed that 20 out of the 43 forces that responded to a question regarding custody facilities did not have separate facilities for children and young people.

Placing children in such proximity to adult suspects threatens their safety and wellbeing, given the number of children who are placed in holding cells in the police station and not provided with the local authority accommodation - required under PACE Code C.