The law

The police possess a wide range of powers to stop and search you. Many of these powers are conferred by the Police and Criminal Evidence (PACE) Act 1984, a piece of legislation which forms the legal foundation for ‘suspicion-based’ stop and search by setting out extensive powers available to police.

The police also have powers to search you without reasonable suspicion, including under Section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994.

See our section 1 PACE and section 60 factsheets for a full explanation of these powers.

For both suspicion-based and suspicionless searches, officers must adhere to the codes of practice that accompany PACE, notably Code A, which covers the principles governing stop and search rules, including guidance on conducting strip searches.

During a search

Once an officer has made a decision to search you, there are procedures they are required to follow, as set out in PACE Code A. These are covered in more detail in our section 1 factsheet.

PACE Code A sets out how a search is to be conducted, including when it may be necessary to remove clothing. There are three levels of intrusiveness of search and rules as to how and where each search can take place.

Jacket outer coat and gloves (JOG)

• This a search involving removal of no more clothing than a jacket, outer coat or gloves
• This search can take place in public view
• This search may be conducted by an officer of any sex

Although there is no power to require you to do so, there is nothing to prevent an officer from asking you voluntarily to remove more than your jacket, outer coat, or gloves in public. However, the officer must explain that you are not obliged to comply.

A search in public of your clothing which has not been removed must be restricted to a superficial examination of outer garments. This does not, however, prevent an officer from placing his or her hand inside the pockets of your outer clothing, or feeling round the inside of collars, socks and shoes if this is reasonably necessary in the circumstances to look for the object of the search or to remove and examine any item reasonably suspected to be the object of the search. For the same reasons, subject to the restrictions on the removal of headgear, your hair may also be searched in public.

More thorough search (MTS)

• This is a search involving the removal of more than JOG but no clothing which exposes intimate parts of the body
• This search must take place out of public view
• The searching officer must be of the same sex, unless only headgear or footwear is being removed

Search exposing intimate parts of the body (EIP)

• Commonly known as a strip search
• This is a search involving the removal of clothing more than JOG that exposes intimate parts of the body
• This search must take place out of public view, but not in a police vehicle
• The searching officer must be of the same sex
• There must be a minimum of two people present, in addition to the person being searched and one of those people must be an appropriate adult in the case of a child or vulnerable adult

Additionally, under the guidance provided by the College of Policing, officers must seek guidance from a supervisor before conducting EIP searches. The officer should explain why such a search is necessary and proportionate given the circumstances. However, while consulting with a supervisor is recommended, it is not legally mandated. Consequently, a search can proceed without such consultation, for instance, if an officer is unable to reach a supervisor but deems the search necessary. In such instances, the officer should document their efforts to contact a supervisor.

Searches involving exposure of intimate parts of the body must not be conducted as a routine extension of a less thorough search, simply because nothing is found in the course of the initial search.

The officer must take all reasonable steps to minimise your embarrassment (e.g. by not making you take off all of your clothes at once unless it is necessary). They should carry out the search as quickly as possible and let you get dressed straight away afterwards.

The officer can only visually examine your genital area. The officer must not touch your genital area and they must not search any further under stop and search powers, even if the officer sees something in one or more of your body cavities.

If officers are equipped with body-worn cameras, they should keep them activated but ensure that the camera lens is covered or directed away from you when intimate body parts are exposed, allowing for continued audio recording during the interaction.

Removal of head and face coverings

Many people customarily cover their heads or faces for religious reasons. A police officer cannot order the removal of a head or face covering except where there is reason to believe that the item is being worn by you wholly or mainly for the purpose of disguising identity, not simply because it disguises identity. Where there may be religious sensitivities about ordering the removal of such an item, the officer should permit the item to be removed out of public view. Where practicable, the item should be removed in the presence of an officer of the same sex as you and out of sight of anyone of the opposite sex.

Intimate searches

An intimate search consists of the physical examination of a person's body orifices other than the mouth. An intimate search may only be carried out on a person after they have been arrested. Intimate searches are governed by the provisions of PACE Code C.

Strip searches of children

Any strip search involving the exposure of intimate body parts for individuals under the age of 18 must occur in the presence of an appropriate adult, except in urgent cases where there is a risk of serious harm to the child or others, or if the child explicitly expresses a wish for the adult not to be present during the search and the adult concurs. In such instances, documentation of the child's decision must be recorded and signed by the appropriate adult. Police officers are not permitted to fulfil the role of an appropriate adult. If no appropriate adult is available at the scene, officers should consider relocating the child to a place where one can be present, such as their home. Throughout the search process, officers must remain attentive to the specific practical and communication needs of the child.

In December 2020, the police conducted a strip search on a 15-year-old Black girl known as 'Child Q', on suspicion of drug possession. This search occurred at Child Q's school while she was menstruating and without the presence of an appropriate adult. However, no drugs were found. In March 2022, the City and Hackney Safeguarding Children Partnership released the findings of a safeguarding review regarding this incident. The review concluded that there was no reasonable justification for the strip search. The incident has been widely recognised as inappropriate, and the police have issued an apology. An investigation found that racism likely played a role in Child Q's case.

Subsequently, further attention was drawn to strip searches conducted by the Metropolitan Police Service. Media reports indicated that the force had referred eight additional cases involving strip searches of children to the Independent Office for Police Conduct for separate incidents. These incidents, which all involved the exposure of intimate body parts, occurred between December 2019 and March 2022. Mayor of London Sadiq Khan responded to this news by stating that the Metropolitan Police have been instructed by City Hall to conduct a review of all strip searches involving children to ensure that lessons are learned.

Some young people like Ellis (pseudonym) have born the brunt of the excessive use of strip searches by the police:

I got strip searched three times in one night… The first time was enough, the second time was ‘whoa what are you lot doing?’ and the third time I gave up. What can I do?… Imagine being 14, 15, 16. You’re in a room with grown men, four strangers, grown men telling you ‘take off your clothes, bend over and squat.’… They’re watching you – and the funny thing is they are bantering, they’re laughing about.

Data reveals that between 2016 and 2021, 9,088 children were strip searched in London, 2,360 of which involved under-16s, and 35 cases were of children 12 years old or younger. Black children are disproportionately targeted for strip searching, with 33.5% of child strip searches in 2018-2022 involving Black children.

In August 2022, the Children’s Commissioner released data obtained from the Metropolitan Police Service regarding EIP searches carried out on children aged 17 and under using stop and search powers. The data revealed that between 2018 and 2020, 650 children underwent EIP searches, with 25% of them falling between the ages of 10 and 15. Notably, the data highlighted that more than half of all boys subjected to EIP searches were Black. Furthermore, young Black boys aged 16 or 17 accounted for 42% of EIP searches conducted on children under 17 during this timeframe. In 2018, this disproportionality was most pronounced, with Black boys being subjected to 75% of EIP searches conducted on boys by the force.

The numbers

Official statistics regarding strip searches conducted by the police are currently not centralised. This lack of data complicates efforts to develop a comprehensive understanding of the practice, including its frequency, characteristics of those subjected to strip searches, and the outcomes of such searches, such as whether contraband was discovered or if any related arrests were made under stop and search powers.

Statistics released by the Metropolitan Police Service on strip searches in custody can be accessed here. Their statistics on MTS and EIP searches can be found here.

Racially disproportionate

In their research, Professor Koshka Duff and Tom Kemp identified stark racial disparities in strip search practices by law enforcement in the UK.

They find that Black individuals are 17.4 times more likely to be subjected to a MTS and 15.7 times more likely to experience EIP searches compared to their white counterparts.

Specifically concerning the Metropolitan Police, Black people are subjected to EIP searches 13.3 times more frequently. From 2018 to 2021, a staggering 54% of all strip searches conducted during stop and searches by the Metropolitan Police were on Black individuals, despite only making up 20% of the population.

The racial bias extends beyond London, with West Midlands Police reporting that from 2016 to 2021, 20.8% of strip searches were on Black individuals, despite them comprising only 6% of the population.

The disproportionality persists even in custody settings, where Black people are 7.2 times more likely to undergo strip searches than white people.