Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime responds to Home Office stop and search and arrest statistics

In response to the latest Home Office Statistics on ‘Police powers and procedures: Stop and search and arrests’ West Yorkshire’s Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime, Alison Lowe OBE, said:

“As the APCC policing lead for equality and diversity, it is encouraging to see an increase in arrest rates nationally for those who are stop and searched, which suggests that the powers are being used in a more targeted way.

“In West Yorkshire, we are also seeing reductions in the application of stop and search generally, with 47 less searches in the 6 months to June 2022 compared to the same period the previous year.

“Although it is clear that disparity still exists locally, with black people over 4 times more likely to be stopped, these numbers are lower than the national average.

“I am under no illusion that there is much more to be done, however, I continue to apply scrutiny over its use and only recently discussed the matter with the Chief Constable in our latest Community Outcomes Meeting.”