Police stop more black suspects
New figures have revealed black people in Northamptonshire are four times more likely to be stopped and searched by police than white or Asian people.
The statistics, condemned by race campaigners, show 81.1 black people out of every 1,000 in the county are subjected to controversial stop and searches.
By comparison, just 21.8 white people and 24.7 Asian people were stopped between 2007 and 2008.
Anjona Roy, chief executive of the Northamptonshire Race Equality Forum, said the figures, released by the Equality and Human Rights Commission yesterday, prove the police "experience" of many black people remains different to other groups.
She said: "The figures are just figures, the kind of thing that really impacts on people's perception is the lived experience. However, if you are four times more likely to be stopped and searched for no particular reason by the police then undoubtedly that is going to have an impact on how you see the police.
"Evidence like this shows that the work we have to do in respect of challenging institutional discrimination is still there."
Assistant Chief Constable Derek Talbot said the "disproportionality" of stop and searches has improved since 2008.
He said: "These powers play a crucial role in our ability to detect and prevent crime, including the recovery of drugs and weapons. We always try to ensure stop searches are carried out appropriately, records are accurate, and full benefit is obtained from the information gained."
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