Disproportionate stop-and-search rates for ethnic minorities remain a challenge for West Midlands cops
West Midlands Police said improvements to tackle 'disproportionality' had been made over the past few years.
Black and mixed ethnicity people are still more likely to be stopped and searched and subjected to use of force by West Midlands Police than others, according to new data.
Police bosses said disproportionality remains a challenge in the region, but added that they have made improvements over the past few years and are continuing to work to address it.
A performance update was presented to the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner’s (PCC) Accountability and Governance Board.
It said black and mixed ethnicity individuals were 3.5 times more likely to be stopped and searched by officers compared with white individuals.
When it came to the use of force, the data showed black people were 2.3 times more likely, while mixed ethnicity people were 1.5 times more likely to be subjected to it than their white counterparts.
Current stop and search data also showed Asian individuals are 1.9 times more likely to be stopped ans searched than white people.
In contrast, Asian people were less likely to be subjected to the use of force compared with white people, with a disproportionality ratio of 0.9.
At the Board meeting, PCC Simon Foster said: “The report identifies continuing disproportionality in stop and search and use of force for black and mixed ethnicity communities.
“What action is being taken to address this and what reassurance can you provide that action is ensuring progress?”
West Midlands Police’s Assistant Chief Constable Mike O’Hara said: “I think we’ve moved in the right direction.
“I think disproportionality continues to be a challenge for law enforcement not only nationally but also internationally.
“We have seen a reduction in disproportionality across the board for ethnic minority groups in the West Midlands over the last few years which is positive to see.
“One of the challenges for us is we have higher rates of ethnic minority groups within highly deprived areas which also equates to where our demand sits and where we deploy officers.
“But fundamentally, it sits at good quality training, good policy and procedures, good oversight and good quality accountability.
“The level of oversight now, particularly around disproportionality, is pretty granular. Not least, we now review the body-worn footage for stop and search for all children as part of our trigger review, which I think is a really positive thing.
“And we report this through the police race action plan and report this into the communities as well.”
Temporary Assistant Chief Constable Andy Parsons added the force was in the process of discussing carrying out academic research to help them “better understand disproportionality”.