A disproportionate number of ethnic minorities are being pulled over by police in Somerset, according to a breakdown of Stop and Search figures.

The figures were being discussed during a meeting of the Avon and Somerset Police and Crime Panel on Wednesday, 26th June. The panel had asked for a report on Stop and Search performance during its last meeting in March.

Members specifically requested the report show demographic information broken down by local authority area, as well as positive outcome results.

The report showed on average the force carried out just under 500 searches per month over the past year – of which around 25 per cent resulted in a positive outcome.

It also revealed the pattern of white persons searched is spread more proportionately across the policing areas. There were 917 searches of white people across the force area between January and March of this year. A fifth of these searches took place in Bristol East, and were mainly related to drug offences.

There was a much smaller percentage of white people searched across Somerset – with eleven per cent taking place in both Somerset East and Somerset West and ten per cent in North Somerset.

Only seven percent of white persons were searched in Bath and North East Somerset Council and the same percentage for South Gloucestershire. In comparison, more than half of the 234 searches of black people took place in the Bristol East Central area. Seven per cent took place in North Somerset and five percent in Somerset East.

The constabulary’s police and crime commissioner, Sue Mountstevens, and chief executive, John Smith, attended the meeting to discuss the figures.

Ms Mountstevens suggested the large percentage of black persons being stopped in the Bristol East area was not that surprising when it comes to disproportionality because ethnic minorities make up a large percentage of that area’s population. She seemed more concerned about the figures in Somerset and North Somerset.

Speaking during the meeting, she added: “The disproportionality is now very significant in Somerset and it’s something the constabulary will want to address.”

Ms Mountstevens also told the panel officers did not have targets when it comes to Stop and Search and the “dramatic reduction” in figures over the past few years was because police were now using a more “intelligent-led” approach.

She suggested the reduction since 2012 could show Stop and Searches going on before this period were “maybe not being done properly”. She also suggested the outcomes of stops are much more positive nowadays.

The report presented to the panel said: “We are satisfied that our grounds for searching are appropriately recorded, with HMIC being satisfied that over 98 per cent of all grounds were reasonable, but statistically we see disproportionality in ethnicity.

“This disproportionality appears stark at a force wide level, but decreases when statistically the same overall figures are narrowed in on specific geographical areas or at the beat level. Most importantly it is the breakdown of intelligence and a greater understanding of that picture that helps us to understand that context more.”

Data in the report showed sixteen people had been stopped more than six times in the past year, all of whom have a number of existing criminal offences and are well known to officers through intelligence.

The report said: “this sort of context should drive analysis of stop and search”.

Kate Wilson