>Racial bias in police stop and search getting worse, report reveals
>Despite reforms, black boys are nine times more likely than white people to be checked for drugs
>Evidence also suggested "changes in the level of stop and search have, at best, only minimal effects on violent crime", according to the equality impact assessment published by the Home Office, which rolled back restrictions on the "controversial" tactic as part of a bid to crack down on knife crime and violence.
>Under existing measures, evidence pointed to a "disparity in the use of s60s on individuals from BAME communities, especially black men compared with white men", the findings suggested, adding: "It is possible that this disparity is at least in part a result of discrimination/stereotyping on the part of officers and forces carrying out searches under s60."
>Section 60 powers give officers the right to search people in a defined area during a specific time period when they believe serious violence will occur. They can look for weapons before they can be used, or those used in a recent attack.
>The changes mean officers can stop and search anyone in a designated area "without needing serious grounds for suspicion if serious violence is anticipated" and there now only needs to be a reasonable belief an incident involving serious violence "may" rather than "will" occur.
>The report mentioned a specific case in which a 16 year old black male was walking with his girlfriend who was white, when passing officers smelt marijuana coming from the pair they threw the black male up against a wall and frisked him. After finding no evidence of marijuana they let the pair go but failed to check his white girlfriend. The girl later filed a complaint to police that her boyfriend had been racially targeted.
>Data "consistently shows" people from BAME backgrounds, and black people particularly, "are more likely to be the subject of s60 searches than white individuals", according to the report.
