Thames Valley Police stop and searches fall by 45%

Thames Valley Police has almost halved the number of stop and searches it carries out, according to new figures.

The force used stop and search powers 2,652 times between April and June this year, compared with 5,889 in the same period in 2014 and 6,145 in 2013.

Figures show black people were almost three times more likely to be stopped than white people.

The force said it was committed to ensuring the powers were applied to "minimise disproportionality".

In 2011 TVP was criticised for "disproportionately targeting black and Asian people in stop and searches".

The latest figures show mixed race and Asian people were also more likely to be stopped then a white person.

For every 1,000 stop and searches, black people were stopped 2.84 times, mixed race 2.39 and Asian 1.53, white 0.91 and Chinese or other ethnic groups 0.89 times.

Natasha Dhumma, of charity Stop Watch, welcomed the reduction, but criticised the rate of stop and searches that resulted in further actions such as arrest, caution and summons to court as "still abysmal".

She said: "That's 19% of every stop and search results in further actions, so that's four out of five searches where there is no positive outcome, that's four innocent people out of every five... pulled aside."

Out of the 2,652 stopped between April and June this year, in 1,807 cases nothing was found or no further action was taken.

Ms Dhumma said stop and search made people feel "humiliated" and "treated like a criminal".

Ch Supt Andy Boyd said stop and search powers helped police tackle street crime and prevented more serious crimes.

Her said: "Thames Valley Police recognises the impact its use can have on individuals and on communities and is committed to ensuring that its use is carefully applied to ensure officers act lawfully, fairly and minimise disproportionality."