Figures reveal black men more likely to be stopped and searched in Dorset
Video report by ITV News Meridian's Richard Slee
Dorset's Police and Crime Commissioner says more needs to be done to tackle any racial bias, after figures show the county has the highest proportion of BAME people stopped and searched in the country.
The latest statistics, published in March, show that in every one of our police force regions you are more likely to be stopped if you are a black man.
The figures come as thousands of people across the South East have taken part in protests supporting the Black Lives Matter campaign. Meanwhile statements of support have been issued from local police forces, committed to tackling racism and discrimination.
In Dorset, out of every one thousand people who live in the county, 62 people who were stopped and searched were black, compared to just 2 white people.
Figures were also high in Sussex, with 43 black people stopped and search out of every one thousand, compared to 3 white people.
In Hampshire, the number matched the national average, which was 38 compared to three.
Police forces in Wiltshire and the Thames Valley were well below the national average.
The Chief Constable of Dorset, James Vaughan, says that of the 153 black people stopped by his officers, more than half were from outside the county, and were suspected of being involved in criminal activity.
He says: "We see overrepresentation of black and ethic minority people in those people that come in from out of town, and when you couple that with a very small population of black and ethnic minority people, then you can see how the figures can be exaggerated."
A Stop and Search Scrutiny Panel has been set up to review the situation and ensure there is no racial bias.
Martyn Underhill, Dorset's Police and Crime Commissioner says: "I've had an independent review by a national expert to make sure we can understand what is going on and I've now challenged the Chief Constable to do more in this space and take personal leadership of the issues. It isn't good enough and we've got to get better at it."
One member of that independent stop and search scrutiny panel, Ade Bamgboye, agrees that Dorset is a target for criminal gangs, but also says that racist attitudes still exist in the minds of some police officers.
He says: "One of the things we have to take into consideration is the number of people visiting Dorset, black and asian and other minority groups for recreational purposes and for drug dealing. And that inflates the number of black people that are being stopped. Disregarding that, the number of residents who are stopped is still high. This is what we have to do, we have to change the hearts and minds of the society and police officers who actually police the community."
The Chief Constable says he will personally review each of the stop and search procedures involving black people.
He says clearly more needs to be done to bring those figures down, but not at the expense of effective policing.
Watch the full interview with Chief Constable James Vaughan below: