What 'no further action' means after a stop and search

Last updated 2026-08-29 · Published by PoliceComplaint.com

"No further action" means the search found nothing that led anywhere. No arrest, no summons, no caution, no penalty notice. Across every force publishing usable figures, 70.8% of recorded stop and searches ended that way.

What the outcome actually records

Every stop and search is supposed to be recorded with an outcome. "A no further action disposal" is the code used when the search produced nothing requiring any further step. It is by a wide margin the most common outcome nationally.

It does not, on its own, mean the search was unlawful. An officer can have reasonable grounds to suspect they will find something and be wrong. The law does not require the officer to be right; it requires the grounds to have been reasonable, and to have existed before the search began.

Why the rate still matters

A single no-further-action outcome tells you little. A pattern tells you more. When one force releases nine in ten of the people it searches and another releases six in ten, that difference is about how the two forces decide who to search, and that is the thing the law regulates.

Compare the rate for every force.

What the officer had to do at the time

Under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 and Code of Practice A, before searching you an officer must take reasonable steps to tell you who they are, which station they are attached to, what they are looking for, the grounds for the search, and that you are entitled to a record of it. If the search is under section 60 they must say so, because that power does not require grounds to suspect you personally.

You are entitled to a copy of the search record. If you were not given one at the time you can ask the force for it, and it is much easier to ask sooner than later.

If you think the search was wrong

You can complain to the force. If you are not satisfied with how it deals with your complaint you can apply for a review, and nationally close to a quarter of reviewed outcomes are found not reasonable and proportionate. The three routes are set out here.