Race Commission slams Met Police stop and search’ in East End

BLACK people in London’s East End are more than seven times more likely than white people to be stopped and searched by police, shock figures reveal today. The statistics also reveal Asians are three times more likely to be stopped

By Keir Mudie

BLACK people in London’s East End are more than seven times more likely than white people to be stopped and searched by police, shock figures reveal today.

The statistics from the Equality &Human Rights Commission also reveal Asians are three times more likely to be stopped in Tower Hamlets, the worst statistics recorded in London.

The figures equate to more than 3,880 excess’ searches carried out on blacks and 7,120 on Asians.

The Commission is preparing to write to the police authorities to raise concerns over possible breaches of the Race Relations Act.

Commissioner Simon Woolley said: “It’s time we saw real improvement in these statistics.

“It’s not enough for the police simply to launch new initiatives if they don’t produce results.”

Figures nationally show blacks were at least six times as likely to be stopped and searched by the police in England and Wales as a whites from 2007 to 2008, while Asians are twice as likely to be stopped and searched.

Most police forces are continuing to use the powers “disproportionately” against ethnic minorities, the Commission claims.