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Stop and Search in Bristol

Stop and Search in Bristol
Banksy Stop and Search from Bristol Graffiti Blog

Avon and Somerset Police publish Stop and Search data:

I have taken their data and produced some reports on Stop and Search in Bristol Wards since June 2023. I have only included data where the anonymised location is within a Bristol Ward.

How Many?

There have been 5,608 Stop and Searches in Bristol since June 2023.

  • The vast majority of people are Male
  • Primarily aged 35 plus
  • No further action is taken in most cases
  • Controlled drugs are the item most searched for

Ethnicity

The majority of Stop and Searches (SaS) are carried out against people of White ethnicity (as identified by the Officer).

If you take the Ethnicity of people from the 2021 Census, and compare the percentage of SaS for each ethnicity with the census data, then you can analyse the proportion of people who are Stopped and Searched.

For example the first line of the ward table below for Lawrence Hill shows:

  • 975 Stop and Searches were carried out (Jul 2023 to Oct 2025)
  • That is 1 Stop and Search per 20.1 people in Lawrence Hill
  • And 1 crime per 1.5 people was recorded in Lawrence Hill (Jul 2023 to Nov 2025)
  • 30% of people Stopped and Searched were White
  • 43% of people in Lawrence Hill are White (2021 Census)
  • The difference between the %ge of White People Stopped and Searched (30%), and the %ge of White people in Lawrence Hill (43%) is -13%
  • The difference between the %ge of Black People Stopped and Searched (42%), and the %ge of Black people in Lawrence Hill (33%) is +33%

Across Bristol 55% of people stopped are White, but they make up 81% of the population.

Whilst 21% of people stopped are Black, they only make up 6% of the population.

This shows that Black people are disproportionately Stopped and Searched in Bristol.

These are the top 10 Wards where the highest proportion (vs Census Data) of Black people are Stopped and Searched:

These are the top 10 Wards where the lowest proportion (vs Census Data) of Black people are Stopped and Searched:

The rates across Bristol have remained broadly the same over the past few years.

Age

In October 2025 the number of people aged 10 to 17 Stopped and Searched reached it's highest total (48) since Nov 2023 (61).

Outcomes

Objects

Central Ward Details

Central Ward saw its highest number of Stop and Searches (64) in Oct 2025

With most people (25) stopped in Oct 2025 being aged 10 to 17

The most common object in Oct 2025 was Controlled Drugs.

You can explore the reports yourself in the usual place. Look for the "Crime" button. You can slice the data in any way you like for your own analysis.

See Also:

Black children and adults strip searched 25 times more often than white peers in Avon and Somerset, leaked report reveals - Bristol Cable

Chief constable challenged on ‘anti-racist policing’ progress and stop and search reform - Bristol Cable

Police to stop searching people because they smell cannabis - Yahoo News

Bristol knife crime: Children searched after surge in attacks - BBC News

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