Analysis of Home Office data reveals that thousands more searches of women took place in the year ending March 2024 than in the same period the year before. There were 59,549 searches of women, a 7% rise from the year before, and 447,952 searches of men, a 4% fall over the same period.
StopWatch, a police reform charity that campaigns against the use of stop and search and which analysed the data, also found 10,450 cases of the tactic used against girls.
A spokesperson said the rise in searches against women contradicts “persistent evidence” that officers discover “incredibly low” numbers of items, with the search routinely not resulting in further action being taken.
The data also showed a 10% increase in the number of arrests of women after a stop and search compared with 2% of men.
The Home Office data also showed that police forces in England and Wales submitted 747,396 use-of-force reports in the year ending March 2024, a rise of 13% on the year before. Use of force refers to officers using handcuffs, batons, tasers, firearms, limb or body restraints, and irritant sprays, among other measures.