New data presented to the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner's Accountability and Governance Board showed black and mixed ethnicity people were still more likely to be stopped and searched, and more likely to be subjected to use of force, than white people. The figures came as Simon Foster asked what action was being taken to address the continuing disproportionality and what reassurance could be given that progress was being made.
Black and mixed ethnicity individuals were 3.5 times more likely to be stopped and searched by officers than white individuals, while Black people were 2.3 times more likely to be subjected to use of force than white people. Mixed ethnicity people were 1.5 times more likely to face use of force than white people. Asian individuals were 1.9 times more likely to be stopped and searched than white people, but were less likely to be subjected to use of force, with a disproportionality ratio of 0.9.
Mike O'Hara told the board the force had moved in the right direction and said disproportionality had reduced across the board for ethnic minority groups in the West Midlands over the last few years. He said the issue remained a challenge for law enforcement nationally and internationally, adding that the force was trying to improve through good training, policy, procedures, oversight and accountability.
The update was presented to the Accountability and Governance Board at a time when police leaders are still under pressure to show that repeated reviews are translating into different outcomes on the ground. West Midlands Police said the higher rates of ethnic minority groups in highly deprived areas affect where demand sits and where officers are deployed, a factor it says shapes the pattern of police contact in the region.
That explanation sits alongside the central problem in the data: even after years of reported improvement, the gap remains visible in both stop and search and use of force. West Midlands Police said it now reviews body-worn footage for stop and search involving all children as part of its trigger review, and said the work is reported through the police race action plan and back into the communities.
For Foster, the question now is not whether the force can show movement, but whether that movement is enough to change how policing is experienced by different communities in the West Midlands. The new figures suggest progress has been made, but they also show the force is still working against a clear and persistent imbalance.
