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Review raises search worries
Asian people in Lancashire are more likely to be stopped and searched by police than white people, according to a new report by the Government's equality watchdog.
A review by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) found almost 21 out of 1,000 Asian people are stopped by the county's police.
In comparison, the stop and search rate for both white and black people is around 16 per 1,000.
However, the disparity is much smaller than many other forces – in London, the stop and search rate is 41 per 1,000 for white people, 183 per 1,000 for black people and 58 per 1,000 for Asian people.
Nationally, black people are still stopped and searched at least six times the rate of white people and Asian people are about twice as likely to be stopped and searched.
The EHRC's review calculates that there were 356 "excess" stop and searches of Asian people in Lancashire in 2007/08.
During the same year, there was an estimated 2,841 excess stops of black people in Greater Manchester and 928 excess stops of Asian people.
Simon Woolley, EHRC commissioner, said: "It is time we saw real improvement in these statistics."
Among the areas with the most disproportionate use of stop and search powers between black and white people were Dorset, the West Midlands and Hampshire.
The evidence suggests racial stereotyping and discrimination are significant factors behind the higher rates of stops and searches, the commission said.
A spokesman for Lancashire Police said: "We are acutely aware of the issues this can raise in our communities and both we and the police authority apply real scrutiny to our use of stop and search powers."
A Home Office spokeswoman said: "The Government is committed to delivering a policing service, and a wider criminal justice system, which promotes equality and does not discriminate against anyone because of their race.
"The National Policing Improvement Agency's Next Steps programme will enable individual police forces to address these issues in stop and search more effectively."
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Wednesday 08 February 2012
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