Stop and Search Practice Questions

Free NPPF Step 2 Stop and Search questions with full answers, for Sergeant and Inspector candidates.

25+ questions in the full bankType A format

About this topic

Stop and search questions test reasonable grounds for suspicion, the powers that allow search without suspicion, and the record-keeping duties in Code A.

Know what can and cannot form reasonable grounds, the authorisation rules for suspicionless powers, and the information a person must be given.

Key legislation and cases

Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, ss.1-3
Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, s.60
PACE Code A

Worked examples

Try each question before opening the answer. Every option is explained, because the exam usually turns on why the near-miss answers are wrong.

Worked question 1 of 2Standard

Sgt Scorey is the custody sergeant on duty during a shift when officers have conducted numerous stop and searches under s.1 PACE 1984. She asks DC Cameron about the supervisory requirements under Code A in relation to those searches. Which of the following most accurately states the legal position under Code A para 5?

ACode A imposes no specific supervisory duties beyond ensuring each search is recorded - supervision of stop and search is a general operational management function not governed by Code A.
BCode A para 5 requires supervising officers to monitor the use of stop and search powers, scrutinise records for potential disproportionality, and take action where there is evidence of unjustified use - including giving feedback to officers where searches were conducted without proper grounds.
CCode A para 5 requires an officer of at least inspector rank to review stop and search records on a daily basis to identify patterns of disproportionate use.
DCode A para 5 requires each stop and search to be reviewed by a sergeant before it is recorded - no search record is valid without supervisory sign-off.

Show answer and explanation

Answer: B

Code A para 5 sets out supervisory duties in relation to stop and search. Supervising officers must monitor the exercise of stop and search powers by officers under their command and must scrutinise the records for evidence of disproportionate or unjustified use. Where a supervisor identifies that a search was conducted without proper grounds, they must give feedback to the searching officer and take appropriate action. The duty is ongoing and proactive - not simply reactive. Any supervising officer is subject to these obligations - not just inspector rank.

PACE Code A para 5

Code A para 5.1: Supervising officers must monitor the use of stop and search powers and look in particular for instances where searches may have been conducted without the proper grounds. Where a supervising officer finds that proper grounds were not given, he must consider whether it is appropriate to give the officer who made the stop and search warning or to take other action.

A: Code A para 5 specifically imposes supervisory duties that go beyond general management. The obligations to scrutinise records, identify disproportionality, and give feedback are express requirements of the Code.
C: The supervisory duties under Code A are not limited to inspector rank. Any officer in a supervisory role is subject to Code A para 5 obligations. The duty is also not limited to a daily review - it is an ongoing obligation.
D: There is no requirement for supervisory sign-off before a search is recorded. The officer conducting the search makes the record. Supervisory review takes place after recording, not as a precondition to it.

Worked question 2 of 2Standard

PC Yusuf is on patrol when he sees a youth, Declan, running from a car park at 23:00. Declan is not known to him and there is no reported crime in the area. PC Yusuf forms a suspicion that Declan may be carrying a stolen item and wishes to stop and search him under s.1 PACE 1984. Which of the following is correct?

APC Yusuf may stop and search Declan because his behaviour at that time of night gives reasonable grounds for suspicion.
BPC Yusuf may stop and search Declan provided he records his personal details first.
CPC Yusuf may not stop and search Declan on the basis of running alone - a hunch or instinct without an objective basis does not amount to reasonable grounds.
DPC Yusuf may stop and search Declan because the time and location together are sufficient objective factors to ground reasonable suspicion.

Show answer and explanation

Answer: C

Reasonable grounds for suspicion under s.1 PACE and Code A must be based on objective factors - something specific about the individual or item, not a generalised hunch. Running at night in a car park is suspicious behaviour, but behaviour alone, without something pointing specifically to the commission of an offence, does not satisfy the test. Code A para 2.2 is explicit that reasonable suspicion cannot be based on personal factors or behaviour alone without more.

s.1 PACE 1984; Code A para 2.2

Code A 2.2: Reasonable grounds for suspicion depend on the circumstances in each case. There must be an objective basis for that suspicion based on facts, information, and/or intelligence which are relevant to the likelihood of finding an article of a certain kind.

A: Suspicious behaviour must be connected to a specific article or specific offence - the fact that Declan was running is not on its own sufficient to meet the objective grounds requirement under Code A para 2.2.
B: Recording requirements apply after a lawful search is conducted, not before. The power to search must be lawfully established first - recording is a consequence, not a precondition.
D: Time and location are capable of being relevant contextual factors but cannot ground reasonable suspicion on their own without something specific about the individual or item. Code A para 2.2 prohibits suspicion based on locality alone.

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