Arrest of a black person ‘six times more likely’

BLACK people in Hampshire are six times more likely to be arrested than white people, new figures show.

CivillobbyingcharityLiberty accused the police of acting unjustlytowardsethnicminorities and called on the government to reduce police powers.

Home Office figures show 866 arrests of black people were made in Hampshire in 2020-21.

This equated to an estimated 49.6 arrests per 1,000 black people in the area, based on population figures from the 2011 census. In contrast, there were just 7.6 arrests per 1,000 white people, meaning a black personwas6.5timesmorelikely to be arrested.

Arrest rates were down from 2019-20 – before the coronavirus pandemic led to a fall in overall crime – when 51.4 arrests per 1,000 black people and 8.2 per 1,000 white people were made. Across England and Wales, black people were 3.3 times more likely to be arrested than white people in 2020-21.

EmmanuelleAndrews,policy and campaigns manager at Liberty, said the figures ‘highlight the injustices that black communities face across the criminal justice system’.

Ms Andrews said: ‘The police should not be handed more powers, and their existing ones must be rolled back.’ ButtheHomeOfficesays‘more is being done in policing than ever before to ensure everyone is treated fairly and without prejudice’.

In Hampshire, there were 45.7 stop and searches per 1,000 black people carried out, compared to 5.3 per 1,000 white people.

A Home Office spokesman said:‘Nooneshouldbestopped because of their race, but tragically data shows that young black men are disproportionately more likely to be the victims of knife crime.’