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Revising PACE Code A (2022)

This draft version of code A is being circulated for consultation in accordance with section 67(4) of PACE.

Last fetched 03 May 2026 · gov.uk

Detail

This draft version of code A is being circulated for consultation in accordance with section 67(4) of PACE. Code A concerns the exercise by police officers of statutory powers to search a person or a vehicle without first making an arrest.

The draft code has a covering note and detailed table outlining the changes and their purpose.

The new revisions are necessary to bring the code in line with current legislation in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 which introduced Serious Violence Reduction Orders (SVRO) into Part 11 of the Sentencing Code.

SVROs are a new civil order which give the police powers to stop and search individuals convicted of an offence where a knife or offensive weapon was present. The order will be piloted in West Midlands, Merseyside, Thames Valley and Sussex Police forces before a decision is made on roll out across England and Wales. Full details on SVROs can be found here.

Documents

Draft revised PACE Code A (accessible)Draft revised PACE Code A (OpenDocument text)application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.text Draft revised PACE Code A (Word)application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document Letter to consultees (accessible)Letter to consulteesapplication/pdf Government response to Home Office consultation on PACE Code A (Stop and Search)Government response to Home Office consultation on PACE Code A (Stop and Search)application/pdf Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) – Code A: Revised Code of Practice for the exercise by police officers of statutory powers of stop and search (accessible version)Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) – Code A: Revised Code of Practice for the exercise by police officers of statutory powers of stop and searchapplication/pdf