Home secretary Teresa May wants an overhaul of police powers in England and Wales which have been disproportionately used against black and minority ethnic people. She said the widespread use of the powers of ‘Stop and search’ has been seen as sharply divisive among Britain’s black and minority ethnic communities. She is launching an immediate Home Office consultation over the future use of the powers following a successful pilot scheme in five police forces, including the Metropolitan police and the West Midlands force, which has seen a more ‘intelligence-led’ approach. A report showed that black people are subjected to ‘routine’ street searches at roughly five and a half times the rate of white people. There was also particular concern about the use of ‘exceptional’ section 60 searches, which were introduced to curb football violence but are widely used to combat knife crime. Black people are up to 25 times more likely to be subjected to a section 60 Stop and Search than white people.

Pray: that police officers will use the powers they have to build public trust.

More: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk-news/video/2013/jul/02/police-stop-search-theresa-may-video