Stop and search retention

Freedom of information request reference no: 01.FOI.23.029794

I note you seek access to the following information:

How stop and search records are stored and for how long? Are they eventually destroyed?

How long Crimint stop and search records are kept on the system? Are these ever weeded?

What other organisations have access to Police stop & search and Crimint records?

Would stop and search information be disclosed as part of a DBS application/request?

Decision

I have today decided to disclose the located information to you in full.

Please find below information pursuant to your request above.

How stop and search records are stored and for how long? Are they eventually destroyed?

At present stops in the MPS are not deleted unless a specific request is made.
The MPS currently publish redacted stop and search data on public dashboards. In a minority of search records, particularly More Thorough searches where Intimate Parts are exposed, this may include incorrect duplicate strip search records that are also recorded on the custody search dashboard.

How long Crimint stop and search records are kept on the system? Are these ever weeded?

Stops are currently not weeded. (Unless a request is received under Data Protection Act 2018, Part 3, Section 47 (1) (a) (b) and assessed and confirmed for deletion by the MPS Data Disputes Team)

What other organisations have access to Police stop & search and Crimint records.

The Crimint Stop and Search Records are not in the main shared with any other organisations. A very few law enforcement agencies have access to MPS records, these would have access to Stop and Search records. These include British Transport Police and City of London Police.

Would stop and search information be disclosed as part of a DBS application/request.

A Stop and Search would not be disclosed on a Basic or Standard DBS check. Technically we can consider disclosure of any information on an Enhanced DBS Check, but in reality a Stop and Search would not meet the threshold test for disclosure outlined in the Statutory Disclosure Guidance because it does not suggest a risk to the vulnerable. The search would have to produce evidence of fairly serious offending such as a sizeable drugs find or possession of a county lines phone and even in that case it would be this offending we may disclose rather than the Stop and Search.