What Is a Section 60 Stop and Search? Your Rights, the Law, and When You Can Claim

Section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 is a significant departure from the general principle that stop and search requires reasonable grounds for suspicion. It is a suspicion-free power: once a Section 60 authorisation is in place, any officer in the relevant area can stop and search any person or vehicle without any grounds for suspecting that person of carrying a weapon or dangerous instrument. If you were stopped and searched under Section 60 in a way that was unlawful, discriminatory, or abusive, you may have grounds for a civil claim. HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services

How Stop and Search Usually Works

Under section 1 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE), a police officer cannot search a person without reasonable grounds for suspicion. The officer must genuinely suspect that the person is carrying stolen goods, an offensive weapon, or another prohibited item, and that suspicion must be based on objective factors, not on the person’s appearance, their ethnicity, or a vague intuition.

This requirement is the cornerstone of lawful stop and search in England and Wales. It exists to prevent arbitrary and discriminatory use of police powers and to protect the right to move freely without interference from the state. Section 60 is a deliberate exception to that rule, and understanding when it applies, and when its use goes beyond what the law permits, is essential for anyone who has been searched without suspicion.

What Is Section 60 and When Can It Be Used?

Under section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, a police officer of inspector rank or above may authorise officers to search any designated locality within their police area for up to 24 hours if they reasonably believe that an incident involving serious violence may take place, a dangerous instrument or offensive weapon used in an incident is being carried in any locality within their police area and it is suitable to give an authorisation to find the instrument or weapon, or that persons are carrying dangerous instruments or offensive weapons in any locality without good reason. House of Commons Library

If, during that time period, an offence has or is reasonably suspected to have been committed in connection with any activity within the designated locality, then an officer of or above the rank of superintendent may deem it suitable to extend searches for a further 24 hours. House of Commons Library

The power is specifically targeted at the prevention of serious violence and the carrying of weapons. It is not a general power to search people for drugs, stolen goods, or other items. A Section 60 search that goes beyond weapons and dangerous instruments is not within the scope of the authorisation and is unlawful.

What Officers Can and Cannot Do Under Section 60

Once a valid Section 60 authorisation is in place, any officer within the designated area may stop and search any person or vehicle for offensive weapons or dangerous instruments. No individual suspicion is required and the officer does not need to give a reason directed at the specific person being searched.

However, the absence of a suspicion requirement does not mean officers have unlimited powers. What they can do is defined and what they cannot do remains clearly restricted:

Officers can:

• Stop and search any person within the authorised area during the authorisation period
• Search for offensive weapons and dangerous instruments only
• Require a person to remove outer clothing such as a coat or jacket
• Detain a person for as long as is reasonably required to carry out the search

Officers cannot:

• Search for anything other than weapons and dangerous instruments
• Use the authorisation as cover to search individuals they have other reasons to target
• Carry out the search in a manner that is abusive, humiliating, or disproportionate
• Use or threaten force beyond what is reasonably necessary
• Target individuals specifically on the basis of their ethnicity or other protected characteristic
• Conduct an intimate search or require removal of clothing beyond outer garments in public
• Refuse to provide their name, station, and the reason for the search on request

Under Code A of PACE, an officer carrying out any stop and search, including one under Section 60, must provide certain information to the person being searched. This includes their name and police station, the object of the search, the grounds for the search or, in a Section 60 case, the fact that the search is being carried out under a Section 60 authorisation, and the person’s right to a copy of the search record.

The Scale and Controversy of Section 60

In the year to March 2024, there were 5,145 searches conducted under Section 60 powers, less than 1% of all searches. Despite that relatively small proportion, the power attracts a level of controversy far beyond its numerical use, because of who it is disproportionately applied to and how limited its effectiveness has been shown to be. pressreader

Under Section 60, the use of suspicionless stop and search, Black people were seven times more likely to be stopped and searched than white people. When searches take place under a Section 60, arrests are less common: 5% of stop and searches under Section 60 led to an arrest, compared to 14% under PACE.

In May 2021, the Criminal Justice Alliance submitted a super-complaint against Section 60 searches, raising concerns over the disproportionate impact on Black people, the low arrest rates, and the lack of transparency over the way the power is used. The super-complaint was jointly investigated by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services, the College of Policing, and the Independent Office for Police Conduct. The investigation report, published in December 2023, found that none of the police forces that the investigators engaged with could explain why there was such racial disproportionality in the use of the power. pressreader

That finding, that forces could not explain the racial disparity in their own use of the power, is significant not only as a matter of public policy but as a matter of potential legal liability.

When Does a Section 60 Search Become Unlawful?

A Section 60 search is unlawful in a number of circumstances. Understanding these is important because each can give rise to a civil claim.

The authorisation itself was invalid

If there was no valid Section 60 authorisation in place at the time of the search, the entire basis for the suspicionless search collapses. The officer was then required to have individual reasonable grounds for suspicion under PACE, and if none existed, the search was unlawful from the outset.

An authorisation must be granted by an officer of at least inspector rank, must specify a defined geographic area, and must be based on a reasonable belief that one of the triggering conditions applies. An authorisation that was not properly granted, that covered a different area, or that had expired is not a lawful basis for a search.

The search exceeded its scope

Even under a valid Section 60 authorisation, officers may only search for offensive weapons and dangerous instruments. A search conducted for other purposes, such as drugs or stolen property, goes beyond the power conferred and is unlawful.

Excessive or disproportionate force was used

A Section 60 search must be conducted in a reasonable manner. Where an officer uses excessive force, physically manhandles a person without justification, or causes injury during a search that could have been conducted without it, a claim for assault and battery may arise. The existence of a Section 60 authorisation does not insulate an officer from liability for the manner in which they carry out the search.

The search was conducted in a discriminatory manner

This is the most important ground in many Section 60 cases, and it requires careful consideration.

Section 60 does not require individual suspicion, but it does not authorise discrimination. The Equality Act 2010 applies to the police in the exercise of all their functions. Race is a protected characteristic under the Act, and a person who is subjected to direct discrimination, that is treated less favourably than another person because of their race, has a potential claim regardless of whether the underlying power was lawfully granted.

The public sector equality duty under section 149 of the Equality Act 2010 also requires police forces to have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination and advance equality of opportunity in the exercise of their functions. The December 2023 HMICFRS report found little evidence that forces fully understood the impact Section 60 activity may have on local people and communities, and noted that only 14 forces in England and Wales told investigators they were carrying out some form of equality impact assessment as part of their review on how they use the power.

Where an individual can demonstrate that they were targeted for a Section 60 search because of their race, or where a force’s use of the power reflects a pattern of racially discriminatory application that cannot be objectively justified, a claim under the Equality Act 2010 may be available. These claims must be brought within six months less one day of the act complained of, which is the shortest limitation period of any civil claim against the police and makes early legal advice essential.

Failure to provide required information

An officer who refuses to identify themselves, declines to explain the basis for the search, or fails to provide a search record to the person searched has breached their obligations under Code A of PACE. While this does not by itself necessarily give rise to a civil claim for compensation, it is relevant to the overall conduct of the search and to any complaint or claim that follows.

What Can You Do If You Were Searched Under Section 60?

If you believe a Section 60 search was unlawful, carried out in a discriminatory manner, or involved conduct by officers that went beyond what the power permits, the following steps will protect your position:

1. Request a copy of your search record at the time or as soon as possible afterwards. You are entitled to this and it is the starting document for any complaint or civil claim.
2. Note the officer’s details including their name, collar number, and police station, all of which they are required to provide on request.
3. Write down everything you can remember as soon as possible: the time and location of the search, what was said, how the search was conducted, whether force was used, and any witnesses present.
4. Photograph any injuries sustained during the search and seek medical attention if needed.
5. Preserve any footage from your mobile phone, nearby dashcams, or CCTV if you can identify it.
6. Take legal advice promptly, particularly if a discrimination claim may apply, since the six-month limitation period begins to run from the date of the search.

Satchell Moran Solicitors handles civil actions against the police across England and Wales, including claims arising from unlawful stop and search, discriminatory use of police powers, and excessive force during searches. We act on a no-win, no-fee basis, and, where clients meet the eligibility criteria, through legal aid funding. As a firm with dual Lexcel accreditation and over 30 specialist solicitors, we assess each case honestly and pursue only those claims we genuinely believe have merit.