Police are more likely to find drugs on white people than black people
Jen Mills for Metro.co.ukTuesday 12 Dec 2017 4:56 pm
Police are more like to find drugs when they stop and search white people than black people, research suggests.
A report by watchdog Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) said the difference was ‘troubling’.
‘It suggests that the use of stop and search on black people might be based on weaker grounds for suspicion than its use on white people, particularly in respect of drugs,’ they said.
‘There may be a number of reasons for these findings but, taken alongside the fact that black people are more than eight times more likely than white people to be stopped and searched, they require an explanation that the service is currently unable to provide.’
Stop and search is ‘one of the most intrusive powers available to the police’, the inspectorate said, adding that ‘its disproportionate use on members of black, Asian and minority ethnic communities continues to threaten trust and confidence in the police’.
Police have powers under various laws to search people and vehicles without a warrant in specific situations.
Officers can stop and search people if they have ‘reasonable grounds’ to suspect they are carrying items such as drugs, weapons or stolen property.
HMICFRS assessed more than 8,500 stop and search records – about 200 in each force in England and Wales.
A review of the ‘find rate’ across the total sample was broadly similar across all ethnicities.
But when inspectors examined the subset of drugs searches, they found those involving black people were less likely to result in drugs being found compared with those involving white people or other ethnic groups.
For drug searches, the find rate was 33% where the person searched was white and 26% where they were black.
A similar pattern was seen where the suspicion was possession (36% white and 30% black) and where the recorded grounds involved only the smell of cannabis (37% white and 29% black).
Stop and search has repeatedly attracted controversy and reforms were introduced in 2014 by then home secretary Theresa May to ensure the tactic was used in a more targeted way.
Figures show this use of the powers has reduced sharply in recent years.
The number of stop and searches carried out by forces in England and Wales has fallen from more than a million a decade ago to just over 300,000 in 2016/17.
HM Inspector Mike Cunningham, who led the probe, said: ‘We assessed well over three-quarters of forces as either ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ in this regard.
‘But that is not to say that there aren’t elements forces could and should improve upon. Of particular concern is the continuing over-representation of black people in stop and search figures.’
http://metro.co.uk/2017/12/12/police-likely-find-drugs-white-people-black-people-7154269/
Jen Mills for Metro.co.ukTuesday 12 Dec 2017 4:56 pmPolice are more like to find drugs when they stop and search white people than black people, research suggests.
A report by watchdog Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) said the difference was ‘troubling’.
‘It suggests that the use of stop and search on black people might be based on weaker grounds for suspicion than its use on white people, particularly in respect of drugs,’ they said.
‘There may be a number of reasons for these findings but, taken alongside the fact that black people are more than eight times more likely than white people to be stopped and searched, they require an explanation that the service is currently unable to provide.’
Stop and search is ‘one of the most intrusive powers available to the police’, the inspectorate said, adding that ‘its disproportionate use on members of black, Asian and minority ethnic communities continues to threaten trust and confidence in the police’.
Police have powers under various laws to search people and vehicles without a warrant in specific situations.
Officers can stop and search people if they have ‘reasonable grounds’ to suspect they are carrying items such as drugs, weapons or stolen property.
HMICFRS assessed more than 8,500 stop and search records – about 200 in each force in England and Wales.
A review of the ‘find rate’ across the total sample was broadly similar across all ethnicities.
But when inspectors examined the subset of drugs searches, they found those involving black people were less likely to result in drugs being found compared with those involving white people or other ethnic groups.
For drug searches, the find rate was 33% where the person searched was white and 26% where they were black.
A similar pattern was seen where the suspicion was possession (36% white and 30% black) and where the recorded grounds involved only the smell of cannabis (37% white and 29% black).
Stop and search has repeatedly attracted controversy and reforms were introduced in 2014 by then home secretary Theresa May to ensure the tactic was used in a more targeted way.
Figures show this use of the powers has reduced sharply in recent years.
The number of stop and searches carried out by forces in England and Wales has fallen from more than a million a decade ago to just over 300,000 in 2016/17.
HM Inspector Mike Cunningham, who led the probe, said: ‘We assessed well over three-quarters of forces as either ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ in this regard.
‘But that is not to say that there aren’t elements forces could and should improve upon. Of particular concern is the continuing over-representation of black people in stop and search figures.’
http://metro.co.uk/2017/12/12/police-likely-find-drugs-white-people-black-people-7154269/
