Black people more than five and a half times as likely to be stopped and searched in Greater Manchester

The figures come as human rights organisation Liberty calls on the Government to tackle the "appalling injustice" of increased stop and search rates for people of colour.

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

While there are rules that govern how searches are carried out, several organisations have said they want the practice banned or heavily rolled back, in part because it is used far more often on people of colour, particularly black and black British communities.

The latest Home Office figures shows that of 9,642 searches carried out by Greater Manchester Police in the year to March, 1,150 were of black people – equivalent to 15.5 for every 1,000 black people in the area, according to the latest population data.

By comparison, there were 6,009 searches of white people – or 2.7 for every 1,000 people.

This means that black people were 5.8 times as likely to be stopped and searched.

Emmanuelle Andrews, Policy and Campaigns Manager at Liberty, a human rights charity, 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," she added.

Black people were more likely to be arrested after a stop and search in Greater Manchester, with 14.4 per cent of searches leading to an arrest, compared to 12 per cent for white people.

However, the disparity in stop and searches has improved in Greater Manchester since last year, with black people 6.2 times as likely to be stopped as white people in 2020-21.

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

Liberty said they were particularly concerned by the Government's proposed Public Order Bill, which is set to expand police stop and search powers.

The National Police Chiefs' Council, a representative body for British police offers, called the practice a "valuable policing tool", but said there was more work to do to address concerns around ethnic disparities.

Amanda Pearson, the organisation's lead for stop and search, said: "We know that the use of stop and search can have a significant impact on individuals and communities, and particularly on young people."

"We encourage anyone who feels unhappy at how a search was conducted to contact their local force."

Nationally the number of stop and searches declined 26 per cent last year, from 714,914 in the year to March 2021 to 530,365 this year – with the Home Office saying a high level of "proactive policing" during the pandemic was the lead reason for the decline.

The overall number of searches also fell 18 per cent in Greater Manchester, down from 11,741 last year.

The Home Office said it is committed to improving safeguards on stop and search, such as creating channels for it to be scrutinised by local communities, and increasing the use of body worn cameras.