Black people are up to 48 times more likely than white people to be stopped and searched by police in some of London’s best-off areas, a new report has found.
The study found that the reasons given by officers for subjecting black people to the controversial power were more likely to be vague, with examples including that a black person gave a “furtive glance”.
Stop and search is controversial because black people are more likely to be targeted amid claims that is because of prejudice.
The study was commissioned by the London mayor Sadiq Khan’s office for policing and crime, and conducted by King’s College London.
It looked at data from 2023 examining 152,000 stops carried out in London, and the reasonable grounds police said they had to use the power.
Across England and Wales black people are four times more likely to be stopped and searched than white people; for the Met it is 3.7 times, and around two-thirds of stops lead to no action or the person stopped was wrongly suspected.
The study found pockets of high disproportionality, such as in East Sheen, in the borough of Richmond-upon-Thames where average house prices are over £1m, where black people were 48 times more likely to be stopped and searched than white people.
Black people were 40 times more likely to be stopped in the ward covering Dulwich Village and, despite being 5.6% of the area’s population, black people were also numerically stopped more. There were 58 searches of black people, compared with 21 of white people, who make up 80% of that area’s resident population.
In Hampstead town, in north London, black people were 38 times more likely to be stopped and searched than white people.
In about 25 of London’s 679 council wards the disproportionality was 20 times greater, and in another 60 wards at least 10 times greater.
Dr Yijing Li, senior lecturer in urban informatics at King’s College London, said: “Our modelling revealed clear evidence of unexplained disproportionality in how stop and search powers are used across London.”
The study found evidence of weaker grounds for stops of black people. In one case on the Strand in central London, an officer justified a stop claiming the person “walked past and given me a furtive glance and immediately looked away”, then having denied having anything illegal “patted his right jeans pocket with his right hand, which was an involuntary action. I could not see any lump or bulge in his pocket so I suspected he may be in possession of drugs, which are easily concealed.” The stop resulted in nothing being found.
The study found this matters because weaker grounds leads to a greater damage in confidence in police: “There is a clear correlation to public perceptions – the better the grounds quality, the more positive the perception on the power being used fairly.”
Of those stopped, 65% of white people felt it was procedurally fair, and only 37% of black people.
The negative experience can rock faith in the police. Of those who thought police were fair when they stopped them, trust was at 67%, confidence at 43%, just a fraction lower than for those never stopped. But those numbers fell when people felt stops were unfair, with below one in four having trust or confidence in the Met.
Khan said: “This major new research shows significant and unacceptable levels of disproportionality that we must act on. That’s why, along with the other steps to support and hold the Met to account, I am introducing a mandatory annual report of how stop and search is being used in London.
“We have to get the use of this power right in London, as lives and community confidence depend on it.”
The Home Office described the research findings as “innovative” and said the Met should “quickly act on its findings”.
The Met said stops were more focused and detecting more crime than before: “More than seven in 10 Londoners support stop and search which, when used with precision and accuracy, is one of the most effective tools we have to deter violence and save lives.
“Our approach has evolved significantly since 2023 and we are using it with more precision, generating a higher proportion of positive results. Independent inspectors found 95% of stops met the required standard in 2024.
“We also now have unprecedented levels of accountability. Every London borough has an independent community scrutiny panel while our Stop and Search Charter, published last year, was shaped directly with communities and outlines our commitment to consistency and fairness.
“This is helping us to better understand the drivers of disproportionality and take appropriate action.”
