NORTH Yorkshire Police has become one of the first authorities in the country to adopt new stop and search regulations.

The new rules came into force this week for 24 of the country's 43 police forces, and mean officers will now record all instances to see whether the outcome of the search relates to the reason for the stop.

Home Secretary Theresa May first announced the reform in April, which also restricts the use of a regulation which allows officers to stop individuals without suspicion of any crime, and said the changes would mean greater transparency across the force and a better understanding of when stops and searches take place.

Chief Inspector Mark Grange, operational lead for stop and search at North Yorkshire Police, said: "Stop and search is a valuable tool which helps the police do their job. It’s important that it is used correctly and that our communities understand why it is used. The new scheme will improve the standard of stop and search and will also make the process more transparent for members of the public.

"We have already made significant progress in the lead up to the introduction of the scheme and have put a number of the new strands into practice, including the recording more data and management dip-sampling of recorded searches to ensure they comply with best practice. We have also begun work on the mapping process and the community trigger policy."