News (Media Awareness Project) - UK: Stop And Search Hits Minorities |
| Title: | UK: Stop And Search Hits Minorities |
| Published On: | 2002-03-11 |
| Source: | Oldham Evening Chronicle (UK) |
| Fetched On: | 2008-01-24 18:03:45 |
STOP AND SEARCH HITS MINORITIES
MORE black and Asian people in Greater Manchester are being stopped and
searched by the police - despite a fall in the total number of stops.
The Home Office figures come on the day Home Secretary David Blunkett
unveiled new stop and search guidelines.
The figures released today show that Greater Manchester police stopped and
searched 49,866 people in 2000-01, compared with 51,089 the year before.
But the number of blacks and Asians stopped leapt from 4,506 (8.8 per cent)
to 6,187 (12.4 per cent) over the 12 month period.
It means that blacks and Asians are now almost twice as likely to be stopped
as whites, taking into account the ethnic make-up of Greater Manchester.
The figures will fuel complaints in ethnic minority communities that they
are unfairly targeted by the stop and search policy.
And they show that - contrary to some claims - the police have not become
reluctant to stop and search blacks and Asians for fear of being branded
racist.
Under the new Home Office guidelines, everybody stopped by the police will
now be given a written ticket recording the reason, their ethnic identity
and the outcome.
Ministers insist the bureaucratic burden will be eased by officers using
handheld computers. The suspect will be asked to sign the record in a move
designed to protect both the police officer and the person stopped.
Mr Blunkett said: "Used in a targeted, intelligence-led way, stop and search
can be particularly effective against street robbery, gun crime and drug
dealing."
The written record was a key recommendation of the 1999 MacPherson report
into the Stephen Lawrence murder, as a tool to restore trust between
minority ethnic communities and the police.
Former Tory leader William Hague said MacPherson had made the police too
fearful to use the stop and search powers.
But overall, while the number of people stopped and searched in 2000-01 fell
by 17 per cent, the number of black people stopped rose by four per cent,
and they are now six times more likely to be stopped than whites.
MORE black and Asian people in Greater Manchester are being stopped and
searched by the police - despite a fall in the total number of stops.
The Home Office figures come on the day Home Secretary David Blunkett
unveiled new stop and search guidelines.
The figures released today show that Greater Manchester police stopped and
searched 49,866 people in 2000-01, compared with 51,089 the year before.
But the number of blacks and Asians stopped leapt from 4,506 (8.8 per cent)
to 6,187 (12.4 per cent) over the 12 month period.
It means that blacks and Asians are now almost twice as likely to be stopped
as whites, taking into account the ethnic make-up of Greater Manchester.
The figures will fuel complaints in ethnic minority communities that they
are unfairly targeted by the stop and search policy.
And they show that - contrary to some claims - the police have not become
reluctant to stop and search blacks and Asians for fear of being branded
racist.
Under the new Home Office guidelines, everybody stopped by the police will
now be given a written ticket recording the reason, their ethnic identity
and the outcome.
Ministers insist the bureaucratic burden will be eased by officers using
handheld computers. The suspect will be asked to sign the record in a move
designed to protect both the police officer and the person stopped.
Mr Blunkett said: "Used in a targeted, intelligence-led way, stop and search
can be particularly effective against street robbery, gun crime and drug
dealing."
The written record was a key recommendation of the 1999 MacPherson report
into the Stephen Lawrence murder, as a tool to restore trust between
minority ethnic communities and the police.
Former Tory leader William Hague said MacPherson had made the police too
fearful to use the stop and search powers.
But overall, while the number of people stopped and searched in 2000-01 fell
by 17 per cent, the number of black people stopped rose by four per cent,
and they are now six times more likely to be stopped than whites.
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