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Police stop and search children

West Mercia Police officers have used stop-and-search powers on more than 1,300 children over the past two years – including three under-fives.

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Their colleagues in the West Midlands have dealt with more than 500 people under the age of 18 in 'stop and accounts' in three years.

However, West Midlands police officers are not required to report 'stop and accounts', which is a conversation with a member of the public, they carry out.

The figures, released under the Freedom of Information Act, reveal West Mercia Police have stopped and searched a total of 3,082 children under the age of 16 over the past five years, with 131 being 12 years old or younger. Nationally, almost 300 young children have been stopped and searched by police in the last five years at a time when the Government has attempted to crack down on the controversial tactic.

In total, 288 children aged under five have been searched on suspicion of terrorism, drugs and 'anticipated violence'.

However, the police said in almost all cases, the tactic was used to search small children who had been used by adults to conceal drugs, weapons and stolen goods.

The figures raise questions over the use of young children in criminal enterprises by parents and other organised gangs.

Many officers believe stop-and-search plays a valuable role in fighting crime, but Home Secretary Theresa May has voiced concern that excessive use of the powers damage public confidence in the police.

Last month, she said she wanted to see a dramatic improvement in figures that show that only one in every 10 of the searches ends in arrest.

In a report last year by the All-Party Group for Children, Baroness Massey of Darwen said: "

The police need to make sure that they don't see children as small adults and do more to ensure they always adopt an age-appropriate response to every child."

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