BLACK people are four times more likely than those who are white or Asian to be stopped and searched by police in Wiltshire, new research claims.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission has detailed the stop and search rate for each police force area in England and Wales – and highlighted those that were disproportionately using their powers.

The review into 42 policing areas during the past five years has found that few police forces have made improvements.

But most continue to use their stop and search powers disproportionately against black and Asian people.

The figures show Wiltshire made 148 excess stop and searches of black people in 2007/2008.

Swindon divisional commander Paul Howlett said: “The figure has actually dropped from previous years but there is no room for discrimination in policing.

“Swindon Police work hard to police in the correct way and not disproportionately in a diverse and vibrant community.”

Nationally, black people are still stopped and searched at least six times as of white people.

People of Asian origin are about twice as likely to be stopped and searched as white people.

The evidence suggests racial stereotyping and discrimination are significant factors behind the higher rates of stops and searches for black and Asian people than white people.

Commissioner Simon Woolley, of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, said: “It is time that we saw real improvement in these statistics.

“It is not enough for the police simply to launch new initiatives if those initiatives don’t produce results. There is little evidence to suggest that targeting black people disproportionately with stop and search powers reduces crime.

“This report shows evidence that police forces, like Staffordshire and Cleveland, which have used fairer stop and search tactics, have not only seen reductions in crimes rates in line with overall trends, but have also increased public confidence in the police.”