Black people are twice as likely to be stopped by Manchester Police than white people
They are 2.6 times more likely than white people
In Greater Manchester, black people are more than twice as likely to be stopped and searched by police on the streets than white people.
Analysis of data released by the police shows that officers stopped and searched people with a dark skin colour at least 456 times last year.
That works out at one in every 162 black people in the region to be stopped, whilst white people had a one in 417 chance of being stopped.
As a result, a black person was 2.6 times more likely to be stopped and searched by police than a white person in Greater Manchester in 2015.
The data also revealed that ethnicity related to the amount of stop and searches. Asian people had a one in 288 chance, while mixed-race people had a one in 198 chance.
Constable Garry Shewan, assistant chief of Manchester Police, stated action would be taken if arrest data reflected ‘disproportionality’.
Addressing the latest figures, he said: “I understand that these figures will cause concern but I would like to assure the public that since launching our Equality, Diversity and Human Rights Strategy in 2014, we have continued to strive towards a level of service that is the same to all members of our communities, regardless of the colour of their skin.
“Stop and search remains an important tool in our fight against crime and when used fairly, responsibly, and proportionate to the community we serve, it has proved to be an invaluable disruption tactic.
“We regularly review our use of this method and starting at the end of 2015 we have begun trialling a much more detailed system for recording instances of stop and search.
“This will allow us to more stringently assess whether each one is justified instead of the previous method of recording over the radio system.”