WIRED: Stop and search doesn't work against violent crime. Here's why

Description

Stop and search looks set for a revival in the UK. The problem? As an end to itself, there is no evidence such a push will work.

Last week, home secretary Sajid Javid called for new powers to search for acid, drones and laser pointers. The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has also promised significant increases in targeted stop and search. These seem sensible proposals: new types of crimes need to be addressed by the police, and some level of stop and search will often be part of the mix. But evidence as to the efficacy of stop and search for the sake of stop and search suggests something quite different.