NORTHUMBRIA Police conducted thousands of stop and searches last year, figures show.

Home Office data shows officers in Northumbria used stop and search powers 5,017 times in the year to March – down from 5,306 the year before.

It was one of just a handful of forces to see a drop in the number of stop and searches conducted.

The proportion of searches which led to an arrest rose from 13 per cent to 14 per cent over this period.

Across England and Wales, the number of stop and searches rose from 577,000 in 2019-20 to 704,000 in 2020-21. This means almost 2,000 people were stopped per day on average last year, with figures peaking in mid-May 2020, when there were almost 3,000 searches each day.

The national arrest rate fell from 13 per cent to 11 per cent– the lowest level since 2012-13.

StopWatch UK said the vast majority of searches cause more problems than they solve.

Habib Kadiri, research and policy manager at the police monitoring organisation, said a fall in arrest rates reflects fears that police-community relations are backsliding.

There were 100 searches of black people in the area in 2020-21 – out of a population of 11,000 – meaning 9.1 per 1,000 were stopped.

There were 4,403 searches of white people – out of a population of 1,366,000 – meaning 3.2 per 1,000 were stopped. This means black people were 2.8 times more likely to be stopped. The figures for the previous year work out at 3.4.

Mr Kadiri added: "What is exceptional is how racial disparities persisted even during a global pandemic, proving that the police never stopped working tirelessly to overpolice people of colour.

“We simply would not accept this of any other emergency service profession. The police must do better.”

A spokesperson for Northumbria Police said: “Powers, such as stop and search, are an important and appropriate policing tactic to prevent crime and to ultimately help keep everyone safe. However, we recognise that this is an area, along with others, where black people are overrepresented, which is also reflected in figures nationally.

“We are proactively working to understand this and are encouraged that this figure has reduced in 2019/20 compared to the previous period.

“As part of our recent recruitment campaigns, we have been clear that we want to become more representative of the communities we serve, which in turn will help us to deliver the very best service possible.

“It is therefore extremely pleasing to see an increasing number of officers and staff joining from diverse backgrounds, including those from our black, Asian and minority ethnic communities.”

In Northumbria, 59 per cent of stop and searches were for drugs – the same proportion as in 2019-20.

Dr Laura Garius, policy lead for Release, which comprises experts on drug laws, said black and other ethnic minority individuals are being disproportionately targeted, despite drug use being no higher among these groups than among the white population.

She added: "The declining find and arrest rates are further proof that these powers are over-used, ineffective, and harmful to black and brown communities – in particular, black men – as well as those living in lower-income areas."

The Home Office said police used extra officers and resources to tackle drug crime during the coronavirus lockdown, and also removed almost 16,000 dangerous weapons from our streets.

A spokesman added: “No one should be targeted for stop and search because of their race and there are extensive safeguards in place to prevent this.”