Black people in Thames Valley were more than four times as likely to be stopped and searched by police than white people last year, new figures show.

Human rights organisation Liberty said stop and search is traumatic and distressing and called on the Government to invest in addressing the issues it creates.

Home Office figures show Thames Valley Police carried out 2,110 stop and searches on black people in the year to March – equivalent to 22.6 per 1,000 black people in the area.

This is compared to a rate of 5.3 per 1,000 white people in Thames Valley, meaning black people were 4.3 times more likely to be subject to a stop-and-search.

Across forces in England and Wales, people who self-identified or who police identified as black were five times more likely to be stopped and searched – down from 5.5 times the year before and 6.2 in 2021-22.

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Black people were also more likely to be arrested following a stop-and-search. Across England and Wales, 15.9 per cent of stop and searches conducted on black people resulted in arrest, compared to 13.9 per cent of those involving white people.

Ruth Ehrlich, head of policy and campaigns at Liberty, said: “Stop and search is traumatic and distressing – and something that black people are far more likely to experience. Just because this disproportionality is not new does not mean we should fail to be appalled by it.

“For years, previous Governments have failed communities by stripping away the support that they need, and used racist and violent policing tools to try and paper over the cracks.

“We need the new Government to take urgent action to reduce the use of stop and search, and for greater investment to tackle these serious issues.”

In Thames Valley, children accounted for 19.3 per cent of all stop and searches.

Ms Ehrlich said: “Evidence shows that stop and search does not work, yet its continued use repeatedly forces people into police encounters.

“Children require support from the state, not increased criminalisation.”

A Home Office spokesperson said: “Stop and search is an important tool in tackling crime but it’s crucial for public confidence in the police that it is used in an appropriate and fair way.

“Certain groups have been disproportionately targeted for stop and search and while this has been significantly reduced, there is more work to do and the Home Secretary will play a more active role in raising standards across policing.

“Ultimately, prevention remains the most effective tool for tackling crime which is why our ambitious Young Futures Programme will support those at risk of getting involved in crime and work with them towards a brighter future.”

A Thames Valley Police spokesman said: “Stop and search is a crucial preventative tool which allows officers to allay or confirm suspicions about individuals without having to utilise the power of arrest, which is important for ensuring that people are not arrested unnecessarily.

“The use of stop and search is guided by intelligence which helps to target those individuals suspected of committing crime, and is generally used with the aim of reducing the devastating impact of knife crime or in connection with illegal drugs.

“This applies to stop and search powers used under Section 1 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, and under Section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994.

“National studies have shown that there is disproportionality in the application of stop and search upon different ethnic groups.

“Thames Valley Police performs comparatively strongly to other forces, showing lower rates of disproportionality in its use of the power, but the force still reflects national trends, and is committed to ensuring that stop and search is used appropriately, cognisant of the impact it can have on communities if used incorrectly.

“To achieve this, the force has developed a Trust and Confidence Board, chaired by the Assistant Chief Constable and a Use of Powers Board led by Local Policing, which holds commanders and teams to account for patterns of disparity and disproportionality in the use of stop and search and other areas of service provision.

“In addition, the force is applying new technologies to ensure that stop and search is recorded more accurately, and improved analytics to equip the force to identify disproportionality and address it more effectively.

“As well as local initiatives, the force is engaged with national improvement programmes including HMICFRS, who reappraised Thames Valley Police’s use of police powers in 2021/2, and has a number of processes in place to scrutinise that its use is appropriate.

“This scrutiny is achieved through a strategic Stop and Search Independent Advisory Group (SSIAG), individual local police area IAGs, and a Professional and Ethical Standards panel, including any cases submitted via the force’s Professional Standards Department. Body-worn video of searches is made available for anonymised randomised scrutiny by the various panels. These panels help the force to identify whether the use of stop and search was appropriate, and whether it was conducted in a caring, respectful and professional manner.

“The scrutiny processes reflect the force’s commitment to improving the way that it operates, and it welcomes any individual or community-based feedback on its use of the stop and search power.”