Young black men stopped and searched 20,000 times during London lockdown

In London, during the UK’s coronavirus lockdown, young black men were stopped and searched by police 21,950 times with no further action taken in 80% of cases. If each individual were searched only once - which may not be the case - that would equate to 30% of all young black males in London. The Metropolitan police increased its use of stop and search during the lockdown, carrying out 43,000 stops in May 2020, more than double the number in May 2019. The Met responded that crime is also not proportionate and is more likely to involve, both as victims and as perpetrators, boys and young men, “particularly of African-Caribbean heritage” and that it believes a more accurate measure of disproportionality is the proportion of stops and searches that identify criminality.

https://www.theguardian.com/law/2020/jul/08/one-in-10-of-londons-young-black-males-stopped-by-police-in-may
Writer: Jamie Grierson
Publication: Guardian