Black and Asian people are being targeted for more stop and searches by police while the tactic is being used less on white people, according to a report.

The proportion of stop and searches over five years on white suspects fell from 75% in 2014/15 to 59% in 2018/19 across England and Wales.

The proportion for "all minority ethnic groups" rose in the same time frame, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said.

Police say the tactic is effective in tackling violence and for getting weapons off the streets.

Critics argue its use is sometimes disproportionate and discriminatory.


In the last five years, the number of searches on Asian people rose from 8% to 13%, while searches on black individuals rose even higher from 13% to 22%.

Meanwhile in London, the use of the tactic on black suspects rose from 30% to 37% and is now equal to the number carried out on white suspects.

In 2018/19, there were also the highest proportion of arrests of black suspects following a stop and search, rising up to 20% compared to 15% since 2014/15.

However, latest Home Office figures showed most stop and searches carried out in the last year did not result in further action, such as an arrest.

Looking year-on-year, police carried out 383,629 in the year to the end of March. This was up from 282,231 in the same period the year before.

Almost 73% of the searches (279,601) resulted in no further action being taken.

There were 58,876 arrests, making the overall arrest rate 15%.