A councillor claims controversial powers allowing police to stop and search people without having any grounds to suspect them of wrongdoing are “disproportionately” affecting members of the Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) community.

John Potter, leader of the Liberal Democrat opposition group on Preston City Council, is calling on Lancashire Police to stop using so-called “section 60” notices after obtaining figures suggesting that the suspicionless searches they permit are not falling equally on every section of the population.

Senior officers can authorise a section 60 within a specific area for anything up to 24 hours if they suspect that there is a risk of serious violence or believe that people may be carrying weapons.

During that time, anybody in the identified zone can be stopped and searched – without the “reasonable grounds” that are usually required to justify the action.

A Freedom of Information (FOI) request revealed that in the 12 months to June this year, police in Lancashire carried out 272 stops and searches under section 60 powers – 17 per cent of which involved people from BAME backgrounds. However, BAME residents accounted for just 10 per cent of the Lancashire population at the time of the last census in 2011.

Cllr Potter says that any demographic changes that may have occurred since will not be enough to explain the difference.

“The disproportionate negativity of suspicionless stop and search must surely outweigh any benefit that the police are getting from it.

“It’s the unfairness of it – and if we’re learning anything from the Black Lives Matter movement and the issue around race equality in Britain and other parts of the world, it’s that sitting back and letting the status quo play out is no longer acceptable.

“With a community very much feeling undervalued and under threat, we should be looking to scrap these things – we don’t have to use this power just because we have it.

“The principle of stopping people without suspicion shouldn’t be happening anyway – and they are actually a tiny proportion of all stops and searches, whereas if they were that beneficial, you’d think Lancashire would be using them far more,” Cllr Potter added.

According to the FOI data, section 60 stops made up just 2.6 per cent of all stops and searches carried out in the county over the last year.

Separate government data on all stops and searches – both with and without grounds for suspicion – shows that the rate of stops in Lancashire during 2018/19 was highest amongst the Black community. For every 1,000 people who identified themselves as “Black”, there were 11 stops and searches – while the figure was around four for those who described themselves as “Black African” or “Black Caribbean” and just under four for those from an Asian background.

Lancashire Constabulary said in a statement in response to the issues raised by the FOI request regarding section 60 stops:  “Stop and search is a useful police power and we do all we can to ensure that our use of that power is consistent, fair and effective.

“Lancashire Constabulary has a culture among officers and staff of treating people with respect and courtesy in all interactions, including stop and search, and we train all staff to use stop and search fairly and appropriately.

“We continue to use both internal and external scrutiny of our use of stop and search.”

Meanwhile, Lancashire’s police and crime commissioner Clive Grunshaw said that stop and search was an important way of helping officers to keep the public safe.

However, he added:  “These powers need to be used proportionately and the stop and search ride-along scheme sees my office work closely with the force to ensure that this is the case."

Clinton Smith, chair of Preston’s Black History Group, said he was “not surprised, but disappointed” by the fact that BAME residents were disproportionately affected.

“There are lots of well-meaning statements made about the justification for the stop and search routine. But the fact is – irrespective of whether you’re involved in any criminality – you’re very cautious as a member of the Black community of being anywhere near police."