South Yorkshire Police used stop and search on thousands of people during lockdown last year

We may have been in lock down or else staying indoors more often for a large chunk of 2020 but it didn’t stop thousands of people being stopped and searched by police across South Yorkshire last year

Official figures from South Yorkshire Police show more than 19,859 people were stopped and searched during 2020 – a rate of 1,432 per 100,000 people.

That was a 49% increase in comparison to 2019’s figures.

The figures reveal the objects police were looking for – from drugs to weapons to stolen goods – but not what they actually found, although they do tell us how many searches led to an arrest.

So what do we know about stop and search in South Yorkshire?

Here we reveal everything you need to know.

5. Children stopped and searched

2,982 children aged between 10 and 17 were stopped and searched, as well as nine children aged under 10. Photo: Shutterstock

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6. White people less likely to be stopped and searched

People who were defined as Black, Asian, mixed race or any other minority ethnicity by officers were twice as likely to be stopped and searched than those who were defined as White. Photo: Shutterstock