Journalist says “Discrimination within a broken system still exists” as stop and search statistics rise

Black men being stopped and searched in the West Midlands has increased by 0.2% according to DATA.POLICE.UK.

Rakeem Omar says, “Discrimination within a broken system still exists. Less than 15% of stop & searches result in any type of arrest that follows. There are systematic challenges that communities are still being racially profiled by in an attempt to combat crime by many police forces.”

Credit to Independent

With stop and search being controlled by police officers, they decide who is deemed “suspicious.” These decisions have historically shown much racial bias, as statistics show the growing numbers of ethnic minorities being unfairly stopped by police.

West Midlands Combined Authority states that in 2021 of the under-24 population, 50.7% are from an ethnic minority group and 49.3% from a White ethnic group.

Just four years later, statistics show the difference in those being stopped and searched by police, dependent on race, in the West Midlands between February 2024 to February 2025. This data is collected from DATA.POLICE.UK.

There is an increase of 3 percentage points, as 73 (15%) of black men were stopped and searched in the month of February. This statistic increases by 22 (3%) as 2025 shows 95 (18%) black men stopped.

Journalist Rakeem Omar created a stop and search documentary titled ‘Truth About Police Stop & Search (2021).’ He uncovered truths about the UK policing system and learning personal experiences from black men who were the target of stop and search.

Credit to BBC 

He says, “If we look at the West Midlands, the Police have had predictive crime mapping tools to predict knife crime and serious violence since 2021.

“I believe journalism is a powerful form of truth-telling & if used ethically, can be used to do good to help people. I have shared many stories of not only stop & search statistics here in the West Midlands but also the personal experiences that go along with it.

“I believe that by people sharing their story, whilst it will not bring the number of stop & searches down, it will help to add to a discourse bigger than any article of mine. People will continue to see more stories of what it's like to be stopped & searched by the police & how this impacts a human being.

“I have written stories of black men who have said they were stopped & searched even when amongst their white friends doing the same things, who were allowed to go about their day. I have told stories of men who have been stopped & searched since they were a child. I have helped to share the experiences of men who have not only been stopped & searched but also done so 10, 20, 30 & even over 100 times."

He continued, “I'm not a lawmaker or police officer employed to respect & provide a public service. But when a community of people disproportionately affected are repeatedly saying, protesting & even sharing viral videos of unethical searches... we should probably listen to them so we can create a better, safer & more just system for all of us.”