Police can stop and talk to you at anytime. However, they may only search you if they suspect that you are carrying on of the following:

1. Stolen property

2. Offensive weapons

3. Drugs

4. Or property which could be used in the commission of a crime or a terrorist act.Officers can also stop in order to talk to you you if you are acting suspiciously.

However, they must be justified in searching you, which is where one of the above four points must be present. 

A police officer can stop a vehicle any time and ask to see the driver’s licence.  If they have good reason to think your car contains stolen goods, drugs or weapons, they could search it even if you are not there.  But the police must leave a notice saying what they have done.

If the search causes damage, you can ask for compensation but only if the police didn’t find anything to connect you to a crime.

Stops can also be carried out by Community Support Officers but they too must provide you with a receipt of the encounter at the time. (Please note, a receipt will not be provided by the officer when stopping a person in a vehicle when a HO/RT1 form, a Vehicle Defect Rectification Scheme Notice or a Fixed Penalty or Penalty Notice for Disorder is issued. This also applies when a specimen of breath is required under section 6 of the Road Traffic Act 1988.