New figures from Devon and Cornwall Police have revealed the number of stop and searches carried out forcewide in the 12-month period to March 2024.

Police in Devon and Cornwall conducted 6,147 stop and searches in that year, 65 per cent of them drug related.

A third of them resulted in arrests or the confiscation of illegal items. Of those stopped, 78 per cent were male. A quarter of those stopped were young adults aged 18-25 while children and teenagers aged 11-17 represented a further 19 per cent. Some 93 per cent were white.

Only six per cent of the stop and searches occurred in West Devon. The majority, 29 per cent, were in Plymouth while Exeter, East and Mid Devon accounted for 26 per cent.