Police's stop-and-search powers should be suspended, human rights group states

Justice, a law and order reform charity, say that stop searches in specific areas, known as Section 60s, disproportionately target black people.

The UK charity has released a report urging the Home Office to evaluate the "impact" and "effectiveness" of these police powers.

Last year, there were 18,000 Section 60s conducted mostly in London, 25% of which were searches on black people.

While government officials have said that they will tackle over-representation within the criminal justice system, the Metropolitan Police have defended the stop-and-search practice as a "hugely important" tool to help protect the public.

This comes as stop and search procedures have declined in the last ten years, but the representation of ethnic minorities in the justice system has not been affected.

According to Justice, the racial disparity within stop-and-search has continued even during the coronavirus pandemic.

It is thought that the over-representation of ethnic minorities in the justice system has continued into the rates of BAME children going into youth custody.

By abolishing the police's stop-and-search powers or at least changing how the searches are conducted, could determine and change the relationship between those from BAME backgrounds and the police.