Black people four times more likely to be stopped and searched in Bristol, report finds

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Race relations groups say more needs to be done to reduce the number of people from black and minority backgrounds being stopped and searched by police.

The call comes a year after a report made 83 recommendations for improvements in the criminal justice system.

Some of the recommendations were made for improvements in prisons, courts and councils, but 40 of those recommendations were made for Avon and Somerset Police.

The report's author says progress isn't fast enough in tackling the changes. The force however, says it takes time to change.

Omari Cato from Bristol was stopped and searched by police when he left work a few months ago.

He works at Power Town, a recording studio in Bristol supporting young people who are at risk of exploitation. Most of the people at his centre are black.

Despite the fact he also works alongside the police, he was stopped, searched and accused of selling drugs.

He said: "They literally came up to us and said 'are you selling drugs? There was no hello, nothing like that, he literally just came straight in with it.

"I had to let him know, you're one of the reasons why young people in the community see the force as an enemy, rather than an ally if they needed help.

"If somebody was trying to harm them, if somebody was breaking into their house they'd take it into their own hands to deal with it because the police force has been seen to be an enemy of the community."

The latest figures show that the number of stop and searches in the force reduced by 18 per cent in the last year.

But black people are still four times more likely to be stopped and searched in Bristol, five times in Somerset and five and a half times in the Bath or South Gloucestershire area.

Of 14 recommendations about stop and search powers, just two have been fully implemented.

In response, Chief Inspector of Avon and Somerset Police Vicky Hayward-Melen said: "I think that will come as a surprise in a year, but I also understand that tangible, realistic change takes time.

"Whilst the official completion of two might sound small, the actual work that's ongoing should feel very different.

"When officers are stopping and searching members of our community, what I expect is there is that respect, that professionalism and that explanation of why that individual has been stopped."

The force's Police and Crime Commissioner, Mark Shelford added: "This isn't about ticking boxes, this isn't about saying okay, we've done it.

"This is about trying to change the way the community feels because the way that they are dealt with by the criminal justice system has changed.

"All of us are working hard to deliver that."

Avon and Somerset Police says it offers its officers the only stop-and-search refresher handbook to help inexperienced officers or those who need a top-up in their training.