Investigating the police use of stop and search in England and Wales during the coronavirus pandemic

In this study we examine the use of the police stop and search tactic for preventing and investigating crime and as a method for maintaining order, during periods of national lockdown in England and Wales during the covid-19 global pandemic. By using time series modelling on data for all recorded stop and search over a 5-year period, we identify that of the 24 areas we examined, 16 saw the volume of stop and search increase significantly during lockdown periods. Significant findings included a rise in the overall volume of stop and search, and searches for controlled drugs. This is unusual given the reductions in crime and traditional police demand during the pandemic, creating somewhat of a paradox. We discuss this further and suggest that this can be reconciled by considering the possibility that the police have used the tactic of stop and search as a tool to maintain order during the pandemic, and specifically adherence to national lockdowns. This position is supported by the academic literature, an absence in associated recorded crime, correlations in the application of FPNs during the same period, and an increased volume of searches that resulted in no further action.