BLACK people are more than five times as likely to be stopped and searched by North Yorkshire Police than white people, according to new figures.

Stop and search is a controversial practice, in which police temporarily stop individuals they suspect may be carrying weapons, drugs or other contraband.

Several human rights organisations, such as Liberty, have called upon the government to ban the practice, because it is used on black communities the most often.

Home Office figures show that 1,908 stop and searches were carried out by North Yorkshire Police in the year to March 2022.

Of these, 40 were of black people, equivalent to 11.1 for every 1,000 black people in the region, according to the latest population data.

However, 1,604 were of white people, equivalent to 2.1 for every 1,000 white people in the region.

Black people in North Yorkshire were 5.3 times more likely to be stopped and searched.

A spokesperson for North Yorkshire Police said: "Stop and search powers help us to keep people safe. They are an effective tool in preventing and detecting crime, recovering property and arresting offenders.

"These powers are never used lightly – an officer must have a good reason for searching you, and they will tell you what that reason is."

The disparity in stop and searches has increased in North Yorkshire since last year, as black people were four times as likely to be stopped in 2020-21.

Across England and Wales, the disparity has improved, with black people now 6.2 times as likely to be stopped, down from seven last year.

Emmanuelle Andrews, of Liberty, said: “Stop and search is a traumatic and distressing experience, leaving a lasting impact on both individuals and communities.

"Not only this, but stop and search is an ineffective policing tool – with these figures showing that the vast majority of stops result in no further action.”

The North Yorkshire Police spokesperson added: "We recognise that stop and search must be conducted in an ethical and transparent manner, which is why we have adopted the national Best Use of Stop and Search Scheme.

"We use body-worn video when carrying out searches, with the footage available for independent monitoring and scrutiny.

"We publish monthly statistics on our website as part of our commitment to transparency, and we support the lay observer scheme, which gives members of the public the opportunity to accompany officers on patrol when they might deploy stop and search powers."

The overall number of searches fell by 50 per cent in North Yorkshire compared to last year, while nationally the figures fell by 26 per cent – with the Home Office citing a high level of ‘proactive policing’ during the pandemic as the main reason.