Police using force on Black people at higher rates than white people, data shows

Police officers are still disproportionately using force on Black people in Britain, government figures reveal.

There were 608,164 incidents where a police officer reported using force on a person in England and Wales in the 12 months to March, according to annual figures from the Home Office - an increase of 8 per cent on the year before.

Black people accounted for 14 per cent of all “use of force” incidents - almost four times their proportion of the country’s population (4.2 per cent, based on the 2021 Census) - and Asian people account for half of that number (7 per cent) compared with their 9 per cent population of England and Wales.

Although white people experience the overall most use of force by police at 73 per cent (444,374), this is proportionally less than their population (81.7 per cent) of the population.

“‘Use of force’ tactics involved people perceived as being from a Black ethnic group, at a rate 3.4 times higher than those perceived as being from a white ethnic group,” the Home Office said in its data summary.

Firearms tactics, including incidents where a gun was both aimed and also shot, were used by police 5,435 times in the year ending March 2022. Out of those, 22 per cent involved Black people, 11 per cent involved people of Asian heritage, 3 per cent involved mixed race people and white people made up 59 per cent.

Black men, aged 18 to 34, accounted for 7 per cent of all ‘use of force’ incidents, compared with 0.5 per cent of the overall population.

Deborah Coles, Director of INQUEST, said: “Data consistently shows disproportionate use of force against Black men. The deaths of people like Chris Kaba, Oladeji Omishore, and so many others are at the sharpest end of this.

“Our casework shows that deaths and serious incidents involving violent treatment by police are rooted in racial stereotyping that associates Black men with dangerousness and criminality. This is exacerbated for people in mental health crisis, who face double discrimination.

“There is an urgent need for structural and cultural change in British policing, which remains institutionally racist. Dismantling racism requires institutions and individuals to confront it, from government, to police, to health and social services.”

Black people were also involved in proportionally more incidents involving tasers (17 per cent), and white people (73 per cent of incidents) were involved in proportionally less (70 per cent) when factoring in their proportion of the population (81.7 per cent).

Black people were over-represented in ‘use of force’ incidents compared with the population of England and Wales, those detained under the Mental Health Act (MHA) and arrests.

The most common reason an officer used force was to protect themselves (425,721 incidents, 70 per cent); the same proportion as the year ending 31 March 2021 (70 per cent).

Of the 608,164 ‘use of force’ incidents recorded, 19,758 (3 per cent) involved the officer sustaining an injury at the time, either through an intentional or unintentional assault. Of that number, some 94 per cent (18,582) reported minor injuries, 2 per cent (299) reported severe injuries and 4 per cent (877) had no injury level recorded.

The Home Office was approached for comment about the annual data.

This comes as equalities campaigners and bereaved family members of people who have died following contact with England and Wales police officers continue to call upon the government to intervene.

The criminal justice system - from the point of detention and arrest to prosecution and probation - continues to be fraught with racial disparities.

This week, His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons found that Black prison staff are facing “entrenched” racism at work such as being called slurs by white colleagues and prisoners on the job.

The probe recommended that Black prisoners who are being discriminated against by white prison officers should cook together to unroot bigotry.

In October, The Independent exclusively reported on damning research that shows Black deaths in UK prisons are among most violent and neglectful.