Black people 18 times more likely to be subject to suspicionless Stop and Search

Ed Davey has called on the Government to back his Bill to abolish Section 60 'suspicionless' Stop and Search powers, as new official figures published yesterday revealed that a Black person is 18 times more likely to be stopped under them than a White person.

• Disproportionate, suspicionless Stop and Search does not work to stop crime. It's a waste of police time, and it leaves too many Black communities feeling over-policed and under-protected.
• Stop and Search can be used fairly and effectively if it is focused on people who commit crime. That requires the police to build trust and confidence through community policing, so they can gather the intelligence they need to identify weapon-carriers and base stops on accurate descriptions of suspects.
• The disproportionate use of Stop and Search undermines the very trust and confidence in the police that is vital to prevent crime. That's why I'm calling on the Government to back the Liberal Democrat Bill to abolish suspicionless Stop and Search.