BLACK people in Lancashire are more than four times more likely to be arrested than white people, new figures show.

Civil lobbying charity Liberty, which campaigns for justice and equality, accused the police of "acting unjustly towards ethnic minorities" and called on the Government to reduce police powers.

Home Office figures show 78 arrests of black people were made in Lancashire in 2020-21. This equated to an estimated 14.5 arrests per 1,000 black people in the region, based on population figures from the 2011 census.

In contrast, there were just 3.5 arrests per 1,000 white people, meaning a black person was 4.1 times more likely to be arrested.

Lancashire Police's Chief Constable said the force is "not institutionally racist" but that "policing in general is not entirely free from discrimination".

Arrest rates in Lancashire were up on the year 2019-20, before the coronavirus pandemic, when 8.9 arrests per 1,000 black people and 3.1 per 1,000 white people were made.

Across England and Wales, black people were 3.3 times more likely to be arrested than white people in 2020-21.

Emmanuelle Andrews, policy and campaigns manager at Liberty, said the figures "highlight the injustices that black communities face across the criminal justice system".

Ms Andrews said: "The police should not be handed more powers, and their existing ones must be rolled back."

Habib Kadiri, research and policy manager at StopWatch, an anti stop and search charity, said the racial disparity in arrests is "symptomatic of an attitude that excuses the disproportionate targeting of black people under the guise that they are more likely to be involved in violence and drug crime".

Mr Kadiri also raised concerns regarding racial disparity in stop and search rates.

"The persistent racial disparity in stop and searches demonstrates the degree to which the misuse of frontline policing powers is institutionalised," he added.

Figures also showed black people in Lancashire were more than three times more likely to be stopped and searched, with 22.9 stop and searches per 1,000 black people carried out, compared to 5.0 per 1,000 white people.

Home Office figures show there were 52.6 stop and searches for every 1,000 black people across England and Wales in 2020-21.

This is compared to just 7.5 per 1,000 white people, meaning a black person is more than seven times more likely to be stopped.

Chief Constable for Lancashire Police, Chris Rowley, said that from speaking to staff and staff networks he is "confident that Lancashire Police is not institutionally racist."  

Rowley also shared Lancashire Police has set up set up the People's Voice initiative to eliminate prejudice in their policing.

The initiative connects the police with people from different races and communitities to learn how people are feeling and areas where they can improve.

He said: "I know that Lancashire Constabulary, and policing in general, is not entirely free from discrimination due to race and I appreciate the disproportionate impact that some of our work and processes can have on particular communities.

"I also, however, see the vast majority of my officers and staff dedicated to fairness, integrity and supporting all colleagues and communities equally, regardless of race. 

"We are doing everything we can to continue the progress we have made and to make sure we are an organisation which is truly inclusive and fair where racial bias or discrimination of any type has no place. 

"We are also determined to become truly representative of the many different communities we serve.”

The Home Office also said "more is being done in policing than ever before to ensure everyone is treated fairly and without prejudice" and defended its use of stop and search.

A spokesperson added: "We now have the most diverse police force in history and have extensive safeguards in place to hold the police accountable.

"Every knife taken off our streets is a potential life saved, with 16,000 dangerous weapons removed from the streets and almost 81,000 arrests made last year because of stop and search.

"No one should be stopped because of their race, but tragically data shows that young black men are disproportionately more likely to be the victims of knife crime."