Almost quarter of stop and searches carried out in West Midlands involved Pakistani ethnic group
Almost a quarter of stop and searches for controlled drugs carried out by West Midlands Police in August 2020 were for the Pakistani ethnic group.
Of the 523 stop and searches carried out for controlled drugs in that month from West Midlands Police, there were 125 searches carried out within that ethnic group.
That’s a 2% fall for the ethnic Pakistani group from August 2019 carried out by West Midlands Police where there were 145 stop and searches being made for controlled drugs.
In comparison, other ethnic groups, which include Black Africans, Black Caribbeans, Indians, and White Irish were less likely to be stopped and searched than Pakistanis for controlled drugs in August 2020 by West Midlands Police.
Here is a map in Flourish, showing each point where a stop and search incident has been made for controlled drugs in the West Midlands region for August 2020.
What stop and search powers are imposed with controlled drugs?
If a person is stopped and searched for controlled drugs, then the stop and search power imposed by West Midlands Police is Section 23, Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.
In a document, outlining the stop and search overview of powers for West Midlands Police, a constable may search the person “suspected of being in possession of the controlled drug” and “detain them for the purpose of the search”.
A constable could also search any “vehicle or vessel” for possession of the controlled drug and require the person in control of the vehicle or vessel to stop it for stop and search.
Bishop Dr Desmond Jaddoo, founder of community group Birmingham Empowerment Forum said: “The whole idea of stop and search is meant to be good in alleviating crime but its used as a tool of abuse.
“Academics talk a lot about overpolicing, but when crime populates in Black and Asian areas, it does not support their argument around this issue.
“There have been incidents where a Black or Asian person in Birmingham has been unjustifiably stopped and searched for controlled drugs, which often ends up in an arrest or a caution from the police.”
