'I don't think we truly know' why our stop and search is so disproportionate say police
Police in Torbay say they are 'concerned' about the numbers not providing ethnicity data to them - and have pledged to build more trust in the force.
Last updated 25th Nov 2020
In September the Devon & Cornwall force revealed black people are more likely to be the victim of crime and 12 times more likely to be stopped and searched in the force area.
The latest police figures, for the year to March 2020, show black people are six times more likely to be designated a 'suspect' and half as likely to receive a community resolution.
Of the 900 Covid enforcement fines handed out, black people were 2.8 times more likely to get one.
In September Devon & Cornwall Police launched what it called 'a wide-ranging audit of its working culture, systems and practices'.
in Torbay, betwen April 2019 and March 2020, 51 people who self identified as black were victims of crime, 93 Asian 6,807 white and 2,021 people did not identify as any form of ethinicity - which police said they were determined to improve as they were 'concerned' by the numbers not providing ethnicity details.
In the stop and search figures 142 didn't state their ethnicity, 332 were white, 5 black, 1 Asian and 6 mixed. The meeting heard around one in three of the stops resulted in some form of prosecution.
In terms of covid-19 enforcement and fines - which includes visitors to Torbay - 2 of the people fined were black, 5 were Asians, 68 white and 45 did not state ethnicity.
In terms of arrests by ethicity 1,103 were white, 9 were black, 11 Asian, 10 mixed and 188 did not state ethnicity.
Police warned the census data for Torbay is almost 10 years old - so it would be hard to 'guestimate' the proportion of people from ethnic backgrounds in the latest Torbay figures - i.e percentage of people from a BAME community stopped. The next census is expected next year.
Chief Superintendent Nikki Leaper said she wanted to prioritise data capture.
She said there were 'serious issues to address', adding that some were 'national' in regard to policing - and welcomed the public scrutiny from Torbay Council on the issue.
She said she was not 'naive' and believed some incidents were under reported as a result of a lack of trust in the force - with the meeting hearing some members of the public will not speak to a 'white police officer'.
She said they were working to building trust and confidence in the force by looking at their policies and their 'quality assurance', looking at restorative justice options, listening to independent custody advisors and independent scrutiny panel members after visits.
Councillor Jermaine Atiya-Alla, Torbayâs first elected black councillor who is chairing the local review, suggested the stop and search figures in Devon and Cornwall were sixth highest in the country.
Chief Superintendent Nikki Leaper, questioned the league table, but responded by saying 'I don't think we truly know' why the stop and search figure was so high in Devon & Cornwall historically.
She accepted there could be an 'unconcisous bias' but stressed that 'officers are trained in unconcisous bias' and an independent panel is now looking into the reasons for stop and searches - to ensure 'quality assurance' and also what the outcome of each stop was and should be.
Superintendent Brent Davison, South Devon partnerships lead, said they look through live cases in 'finite detail' to scrutinise cases - and they are currently looking at whether their stop and search is effective in a pilot - which takes into account 'neuro science'.
He added that the force ensures equality and diversity training to new recruits and understands how 'corrosive (stop and search) can be on the kind of relationships we're looking to build trust with'.
The figures for stop and search are similar in Cornwall - with black people 11 times more likely to be stopped and searched. It was 14 times across other parts of Devon and 7 or 8 in Plymouth.
The panel heard a female pupil in the area was asked to move to the back of the classroom because she had an afro and pupils behind her could not see.
Chief Superintendent Nikki Leaper called it 'unacceptable' and said policing needed to work with education and said they needed to 'get into schools' and 'build that trust'.
She said a young person's first interaction with police shouldn't be when they become a victim of crime.
The force revealed they have 244 senior officers, which is inspector to chief superintendent, and of those only 5 identify as being from the BAME community.
They also want to increase diversity in the workforce as a whole - claiming there's limited awareness of the different roles and opportunities the force offers'.
Figures revealed at the meeting show 1.3 per cent of the total workforce identifies as being from a BAME community.
The meeting heard there's a perception that some might people might not want to work in a 'racist environment' which Superintendent Brent Davison said was something the force was actively trying to change.
Constable Kate Marks said they go out to engagement events and discuss 'barriers to joining the police' which can include the fear of being assaulted while doing the job.
For more about the meeting click here