If you complain about West Yorkshire Police and ask for a review, the reviewing body found the force's original outcome was not reasonable and proportionate in 25.7% of 377 completed reviews in 2024/25, the 15th highest of 43 forces and 1.2 points above the national figure of 24.5%. West Yorkshire Police recorded 55,561 stop and searches between 2023-07 to 2026-06, and 67.0% ended in no further action.
Share a fact about West Yorkshire Police
8.9% of the people searched by West Yorkshire Police where ethnicity was recorded were recorded by the officer as Black.
Source: data.police.uk, 2023-07 to 2026-06, 50,236 searches with ethnicity recorded. Figures as published; see the tables on this page for the full denominators.
Complaints about West Yorkshire Police
| Complaint cases logged | 3,772 |
|---|---|
| Employees | 10,782 |
| Cases per 1,000 employees | 349.8 (32nd of 44) |
| Review applications to the local policing body | 257 |
| Review applications to the IOPC | 157 |
Where reviews found the outcome was not reasonable and proportionate
| Route | Reviews completed | Outcome overturned | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local policing body, complaint not investigated | 234 | 47 | 20.1% |
| IOPC, complaint not investigated | 99 | 30 | 30.3% |
| IOPC, complaint investigated | 44 | 20 | 45.5% |
Stop and search by West Yorkshire Police
| Searches recorded | 55,561 |
|---|---|
| Period | 2023-07 to 2026-06 |
| Months of data | 36 of 36 |
| Ended in no further action | 67.0% |
| More than outer clothing removed | 1,586 |
What West Yorkshire Police searched people for
| Stated object of search | Searches |
|---|---|
| Controlled drugs | 36,811 |
| Article for use in theft | 6,028 |
| Offensive weapons | 5,455 |
| Stolen goods | 3,461 |
| Firearms | 467 |
Who West Yorkshire Police searched
| Officer-defined ethnicity | Searches | Share |
|---|---|---|
| White | 29,032 | 57.8% |
| Asian | 16,068 | 32.0% |
| Black | 4,448 | 8.9% |
| Other | 688 | 1.4% |
Calculated over the 50,236 searches where an officer recorded an ethnicity, which is 90.4% of all searches by this force.
Compared with who lives in the West Yorkshire Police area
| Ethnic group | Share of searches | Share of residents | Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black | 8.9% | 3.1% | 2.9x |
| Asian | 32.0% | 15.9% | 2.0x |
| White | 57.8% | 76.6% | 0.8x |
| Other | 1.4% | 1.7% | 0.8x |
Use of force by West Yorkshire Police
| Year | Use of force reports | Relative volume |
|---|---|---|
| 2020/21 | 32,866 | |
| 2021/22 | 39,450 | |
| 2022/23 | 44,404 | |
| 2023/24 | 45,280 | |
| 2024/25 | 42,486 |
Recorded use of force by West Yorkshire Police has risen 29.3% since 2020/21. Nationally the total rose 39.4% over the same period, so this force is below the national trend.
Taser use
| Total recorded Taser uses | 571 |
|---|---|
| Of which discharged | 51 |
| Share actually discharged | 8.9% |
Most recorded Taser use is drawing, aiming or red-dotting rather than firing. The share actually discharged is the figure worth knowing.
Complaining to West Yorkshire Police
Complaints go to the force first. Use its own official channel so the complaint is recorded properly and you get written confirmation.
- West Yorkshire Police official website
- Telephone: 101
What you can do about it
Complaining to a force and bringing a claim against it are different processes with different outcomes. Reviews overturn the force's own finding in roughly a quarter of cases nationally, which makes the review stage worth understanding before you use it.
West Yorkshire Police in the news
The five most recent reports mentioning this force, collected automatically. Headlines and links belong to the publishers named. We do not edit, summarise or endorse them, and inclusion here does not imply any finding against anyone.
- Here's why police want to identify these individuals in the Bradford district
- Another vehicle 'that attempted to avoid police' seized - here's why
- Police reveal why this Volkswagen Golf had to be seized
- Appeal after man hospitalised in shop attack believed to be 'targeted'
- Renewed appeal for information about missing man from Kippax
- Independent Office for Police Conduct, police complaints statistics for England and Wales, 2024/25.
- data.police.uk stop and search API, 2023-07 to 2026-06. Accessed 2026-08-29.
- Home Office police use of force statistics, England and Wales, 2024/25.
Data last refreshed , covering 2023-07 to 2026-06. Every figure on this page is recomputed from the source datasets, not edited by hand. Found something wrong? Tell us.