Blears: Response

Ministers have pledged to take action following the release of new figures showing sharply higher numbers of police stop and searches in the black and Asian communities.

Data released on Friday showed that stops and searches for Asians under Section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000 had risen by 302 per cent, from 744 searches to 2,989.

The figures appear to show that higher security levels in the wake of an increased terrorist threat are having a disproportionate impact on Asian communities.

The police also have separate stop and search powers under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) of 1984.

PACE stops on black people went up by 38 per cent and on Asians by 36 per cent.

In comparison, PACE searches of white people were up by by 17 per cent.

The figures mean that black people are six times more likely to be searched by police than white people, while there are almost twice as many searches of Asian people than white people.

Unease

Following the release of the statistics, ministers expressed their unease and pledged to take action to reverse the trends.

Home Office minister Hazel Blears said an action team would be formed to review the use of stop and search powers.

"We know stop and search is effective in tackling crime when used in an intelligence-led way," she said.

"The action team is currently assessing to what extent this is taking place."

And Baroness Scotland, the minister with responsibility for the criminal justice system, said it was "vital we build a justice system which represents everyone and in which all people can have confidence".

"We now have the most comprehensive anti-racism legislation in Europe and a recognition that diversity is a strength for the nation," she said.

"But for too many people discrimination and prejudice continue to be part of their lives.

"Across government we are determined to do all we can to tackle this from better education to reducing poverty.

"Since 1997 crime has fallen dramatically nationwide and successful Home Office-backed police operations against gun crime and robbery are reducing offences which hugely affect the black community.

"But black and minority ethnic communities are still at most risk of being victims of crime.

"We are tackling this through the national strategy on victims and witnesses, improving victim and witness care through a new bill currently in parliament, and we are spending £36 million on dedicated witness care units.

"This is a responsibility shared by all - the government cannot provide all the answers and neither do we want to. As a nation we have to build on the foundations of progress that are already in place."

Message

For the Conservatives, shadow attorney general Dominic Grieve said the figures were "troubling".

"That may be necessary because we are facing a serious security situation, but at the same time it sends out a very difficult message to members of the Asian community," he told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.

"The sense of being targeted or marginalised, which is prevalent in some sections of the Asian community, is very worrying so anything that can be done to reduce the need to stop is desirable."

But he said the figures reflected the threats facing the UK, rather than racism among officers.

"If you are looking for a terrorist and it is believed that the terrorists are likely to be Asian in origin because of the nature of the terrorism we are currently facing, then it's almost inevitable that the police are going to be looking among the Asian community," said Grieve.