ONE in five stop and searches by police in England and Wales last year were carried out on children, according to new figures released today.

Figures from the Home Office show that searching children has become increasingly common, rising by 13 per cent from the previous year. 

Nearly 529,500 stop and searches were carried out in the year to March, with about 20 per cent of the searches made on under-18s.

Akiko Hart, interim director of human rights charity Liberty, said: “We heard in the Casey review how police officers are ‘rude or uncivil’ and use ‘excessive force’ on children during searches, leaving them scared and humiliated.

“This government is failing our young people by stripping away the support that they need and using the police to try and cover the cracks. But stop and search only worsens division and alienation in our communities.”

The data showed that black people were 5.5 times more likely than white people to be stopped and searched last year. 

Only 3 per cent of searches in the year ending March 2023 resulted in an offensive weapon or firearm being found.