The use of police stop and search powers has increased. – TODAY

There were more than 46,600 stop and searches in the region between May last year and May this year, an increase of more than 44 per cent.

According to a report presented to Greater Manchester’s Police, Fire and Crime Panel in the city centre this week, the increase for GMP is far greater than that for forces in England and Wales.

In Trafford, more than 3,000 stop and searches took place in the borough in the same 12 months.

Around 14% of stop and searches in the city have resulted in an arrest in the past six months. This is the third highest number of stop and searches in Greater Manchester, where an average of around 12% of stop and searches result in an arrest.

Black communities are over-represented in the statistics, with black people around four times more likely to be stopped and searched than white people. This is higher than the Greater Manchester average (around two and a half times more likely) and the same as the average for England and Wales (around four times more likely).

(Photo: GMP)

Assistant Chief Constable Terry Woods told the Greater Manchester Police, Fire and Crime Group about the statistics which are under “critical review”.

Deputy Chief Constable Woods, who reports to Chief Constable Stephen Watson, said: “If we had it proportionately right we would be stopping and searching 50 per cent of women and more elderly people. They don’t appear in the graph. Stop and search is being used disproportionately. It’s being done in certain areas for certain issues.”

Kate Green, deputy mayor of Greater Manchester, said: “While the number of stop and searches has increased significantly over the past two years, the number of disproportionate incidents has not increased significantly. In fact, it has decreased.”

Under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, police have the power to stop and search someone if they have a “reasonable suspicion” that they are in possession of an illegal substance. Under the Public Order Act 1994, police have the power to stop and search a person without a “reasonable suspicion” that they are in possession of an illegal substance, as long as a section 60 order is in force.

For information about stop and search and your rights and responsibilities, visit gmp.police.uk/stopandsearch.

This article was written by Jack Toews. To contact him, please email (email protected) Or follow him on Twitter @JTRTooth.