Removing clothing: police powers
In a public place a police officer can ask a person to take off their coat, jacket or gloves.
The police can ask a person to take off other clothes including anything they are wearing for religious reasons – eg a veil or turban. If they do, they must take the person somewhere private [out of public view].
If the officer wants to remove more than a jacket and gloves they must be the same gender as the person.
What can the public expect?
Before you’re searched the police officer must tell the person:
If the police officer is not in uniform they must show you their warrant cards / ID; Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) must be in uniform.
If a person is stopped they should record the details of the officers and what happened:
What if a person is unhappy about being Stop and searched?
If they were not happy with why they were stopped and searched or with the way in which they were treated during being stopped and searched, they can make a complaint.
To do this, they go to the contact us section of the Devon and Cornwall Police website and follow ‘how to make a complaint’. If they don’t want to make an official complaint but want to give feedback (good or bad) on being stopped and searched they can email the force. This email will be seen by the senior officer reviewing stop and search for the local police and be given to the independent scrutiny group to review.
If a person is Stop and searched, will this show up on as a criminal record?
Being stopped and searched is not the same as being arrested and is not a criminal record, nor something which a person will need to tell an employer or anyone else about unless they want to. While a record of the search is kept, that is not a criminal record and details are not put on the local or national police systems as any sort of suspect or criminal.
Before the Devon County Constabulary and Cornwall County Constabulary were formed in the 1850s, parish constables were elected once a year by the vestry meeting in each parish. The office of parish constable was often an unpopular one, for they received no wages and many attempted to buy their way out of having to serve. However, once the Constabularies had been formed the locally-appointed parish constables passed into policing history.
The parish constable’s tipstaff and, later, truncheon were ‘badges of office’ as opposed to their modern-day use as weapons of defence. These officers wore no uniforms, so many used to hang their truncheons outside their cottages to indicate their presence and authority.
Small borough forces were created across Devon and Cornwall managing crime and disorder within towns.
Between 1857 and 1860, these borough forces were merged to create two county forces, Cornwall constabulary and Devon constabulary.
In 1926, the increase in volume of traffic in Plymouth was creating a problem with the safety of pedestrians being a concern for the local police force.
In the 1930s, technology was beginning to have an impact on policing and it was during this time that the 999 system was introduced.
This video showing footage from the 1950s explains the training undertaken by new police officers at Hendon. It also explains the techniques used by detectives of the time in dealing with serious crime.
This video showing footage from the 1960s shows how technology started to have an impact on the way officers policed. Although it looks antique now compared to modern techniques, at the the time this was ground breaking.
In 1966, the two county police forces merged into the one force, creating Devon and Cornwall constabulary.
Although female worked within the police service before this time, it was only in 1970 that females were fully integrated into the force with the same powers as their male counterparts. This archive video sows many of the differences for women compared to modern day policing.
