'Disproportionately' use of stop and search powers on black people by Met police

Official figures show that last year there was an increase in the use of stop and search by the Metropolitan police, with a 19% rise among London's minority black population which was targeted more than the white population.

 

White people make up 59.8% while black people make up 15.6% of London's population. In 2018, 43% of searches were of black people, while 35.5% were of white people , according to official figures from the London Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC).

 

Figures from MOPAC, which oversees the Met quoted in a briefing note for senior officials stated that "disproportionality has increased", with the likelihood of black people being stopped 4.3 times higher than white people in 2018, compared with 2.6 times more likely in 2014.

 

A black police leader accused the Met of racial profiling and the MP David Lammy, who was commissioned by the prime minister to investigate racial bias in the criminal justice system, warned police they were unfairly targeting young black men.

 

Theresa May, when home secretary, warned police about the damage such disproportionality caused and pressed for change, resulting in a drop in the overall level. Stop and search is controversial because of a historic greater likelihood of use against black communities with a resultant damage in trust and confidence in policing. 

 

A total of 151,102 searches were carried out in 2018, an increase of 16% in London on the previous year, rising by 5% for white people and 19% for black people.

 

The figures for 2018 shows there were 10.8 stops for every 1,000 white people, while for black people in London it was 50.2 stops per thousand of population.

 

In a statement police said: "The Met has seen an increase in the use of the tactic over the last year particularly within the last six months, largely due to the increase in street violence and related drug crime.

 

"Crime is not proportionate and the root causes are complex. . Knife crime and street violence disproportionately affects boys and young men, particularly of African-Caribbean heritage both in terms of victims and perpetrators.

 

"In 2018, 76% of homicide victims are male, with 62% of the total being of African-Caribbean heritage and aged under 25. In relation to victims of knife injuries under the age of 25, 455 were white and 1,370 were BAME [black and minority ethnic].

 

"We must focus our efforts … in the areas requiring our support and intervention to stop more young people being injured, dying or damaging their lives by committing serious offences."

 

Lammy, who is the Labour MP for Tottenham, said: "Stop and search disproportionately and unfairly targets young black men. It destroys trust between police and the communities they serve.

 

"Stop and search is consistently ineffective at reducing violent crime and reliance on it gets in the way of long-term solutions to address its root problems."

 

Overall 16% of searches led to an arrest and the data shows arrest rates were lower for the black population.

 

The Met said: "Stop and search is also an effective preventative measure. In utilising the tactic consistently in an evidenced based manner in relation to specific crime types, we believe this can also significantly deter criminality."