THE decision by police to use stop and search powers on a black man in the city centre has divided opinion but many readers have defended the actions of police.

A man was stopped near The Cross in Worcester on Sunday at about 9pm because police suspected he might be carrying drugs (which turned out not to be the case) after acting on information supplied by a CCTV operator.

Data shows that black people within West Mercia Police force area are more likely to be stopped and searched than any other ethnic group.

Video footage of the incident, shared by a concerned witness, showed the man being searched near Tony and Guy, opposite McDonald's, with five uniformed police officers at the scene.

Of the 2,025 stop and searches conducted by West Mercia Police between December 2023 and May 2024, 777 (38.37 per cent) had a police outcome, and 1,248 (61.63 per cent) had no further action taken. West Mercia Police data does show that the force stops more black and black British people per head than any other group.

The number of stop and searches per 1,000 resident population broken down by ethnic group between December 2023 and May 2024 show 16.397 were 'black or black British' compared to 1.253 white, 5.158 Asian or Asian British, 4.066 Chinese or other ethnic group and 1.931 mixed.

Shrews123 wrote: "The Government and Police are encouraged to rid our streets of knife and drug crime and 'stop and search' is a proven tool to do just that.

"Why do the Police have a 'panel' to review such cases? They are dammed if they do and dammed if they don't. The simple message is regardless of your race, creed or colour, don't carry knives and don't take drugs."

Bogtrotter wrote that 'back in the 70s it was mostly white people of Irish heritage that were being stopped due to the IRA'.

Si-Sa-Ket Blues wrote: "I am sure that the majority of normal, sensible, law-abiding folk will applaud the actions of the Police in this instance. Drugs destroy lives and are the cause of most acquisitive crime. The colour or ethnicity of the person stopped is immaterial."

Gertrude Wilmington wrote: "I commend the police for policing and insist they do more of it on those they believe are carrying out crimes irrespective of their skin pigmentation."

Juliet bravo two zero wrote: "The police should be allowed to stop and search anyone at anytime. The media are a disgrace."

dciTD3 wrote:  "Police are four times more likely to stop and search a black male rather than any other race. Not my facts, check with each force and they'll tell you under freedom of information act."

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A spokesperson for West Mercia Police said: "At around 9pm last night (Sunday) officers conducted a stop search of a man at The Cross in Worcester.

"The search was carried out following an alert from CCTV operators advising they had seen the man with items which they suspected to be drugs.

"No drugs were found during the search and the man was free to continue with his evening."

Chief Inspector David Troth, who leads the patrol team in Worcester, said: “Stop and search powers are an important tool for police officers and undoubtedly help prevent serious harm in our communities, ultimately contributing to keeping people safe."

“However, we acknowledge that it can be an intrusive tool and must be used lawfully, proportionately, fairly and with respect."