Civometry calculation
Stop and searches per 1,000 residents by self-defined ethnicity
Stop and searches in England and Wales (Home Office stop and search table SS_23), per 1,000 usual residents in the same ethnic group (ONS Census 2021, TS021 broad groups).
How it is calculated
- Numerator
- Stop and searches by self-defined ethnicity · split by self-defined ethnicity
- Denominator
- Census 2021 ethnic group (five broad groups) · split by Ethnic group
- Formula
- numerator ÷ denominator × 1,000
- Result is measured in
- per 1,000 residents
- Which population is used
- latest census on or before numerator period (Census 2021)
- Suppressed when
- the numerator is below 10 or the population below 1,000, so small numbers are not published as rates
How the categories are matched
The two sources do not use the same category names. Every numerator category is mapped to exactly one denominator category, and nothing is merged or dropped silently.
| In the numerator | Matched to |
|---|---|
| Asian (or Asian British) | Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh |
| Black (or Black British) | Black, Black British, Black Welsh, Caribbean or African |
| Mixed | Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups |
| White | White |
| Other Ethnic Group | Other ethnic group |
Not matched: Not stated / Unknown, Vehicle only search. These records have no population to divide by, so no rate is calculated for them. They are shown as counts rather than hidden.
What it covers
England and Wales including British Transport Police; years ending March from the first period ending on or after Census day 2021.
63 calculated values, most recently for Year ending March 2025.
What this calculation cannot tell you
- A stop and search is an encounter, not a person; one person can be searched many times in a year and the census counts residents once.
- Searches where ethnicity was not stated and vehicle-only searches have no denominator and are shown as their own rows; named groups' rates are understated by an unknown amount.
- Searches happen where people are, not where they live; the denominator is the resident population of England and Wales, not the population present.
- The denominator is the resident population on 21 March 2021 for every year.
- Crude rates only; no stop and search by age and ethnicity table is ingested.
Check it yourself
Every calculated value stores the numerator, the denominator and the identifiers of the two official observations it came from. Open the numerator and denominator above, take the figures for the same period and category, and apply the formula. If you get a different answer, tell us where it diverges.