Call for reform of police stop and search as data shows black people much more likely to be stopped
A Black Country community leader is calling for an independent committee to be set up to address issues relating to police stop and searches.
The call comes as new Home Office figures show that black people in the region are more than three times as likely to be stopped as white people.
West Midlands Police carried out 4,390 stop and searches on black people in the year up to March 2023 - equivalent to 18.6 per 1,000 black people in the area. In comparison 5.8 per 1,000 whites were made subject to stops, meaning black people were 3.2 times as likely to be stopped.
Meanwhile across England and Wales those who were identified as black were 5.5 times more likely to be subject to police searches – down from 6.2 in 2021-22. In response, the Home Office said it was encouraging that racial disparities in stop and search use were falling.
But Bishop Desmond Jaddoo, of Walsall's Village Fellowship, said: "For many years now the police have said they wish to tackle the disproportional impact of stop and search by having scrutiny committees.
