Bedfordshire PCC Festus Akinbusoye backs continuation of stop-and-search

Britain's first black police and crime commissioner has said removing stop-and-search powers would mean "a field day for criminals".

Conservative Festus Akinbusoye was elected to the Bedfordshire role earlier this month.

Human rights groups say the number of people belonging to ethnic minorities stopped and searched by police is "disproportionate".

But Mr Akinbusoye said: "I am pro stop-and-search."

"I was a special constable and I stopped people, black and white, and I found things," he said.

The police and crime commissioner (PCC) said he had been stopped and searched six times by police in the past.

He said it was "disturbing" that the experience of policing for ethnic minorities could be "the opposite" of what white people go through.

But he said he felt the powers were necessary because he knew "one too many who have been killed" by a person carrying a weapon, which could have been found in a stop-and-search.

"If forces stop it will be a field day for criminals," Mr Akinbusoye said.

Human rights group Justice has said stop-and-search is a key factor in the disproportionate representation of black people in the criminal justice system, and the powers should be suspended.

But the government said stop-and-search was "a vital tool which helped police seize 11,000 dangerous weapons last year".

Mr Akinbusoye was speaking during a BBC Facebook Live broadcast to mark the anniversary of the death of George Floyd.

He said about the murder: "As a black man looking at a black man being literally killed on the ground in the streets was such a poignant moment for me."

The PCC said the death was relevant in the UK because "policing is not entirely free of racism - anybody who says it is is in denial".

"Just because you don't hear all over the news about the challenges [ethnic minorities] communities face at the hands of police officers in Britain, doesn't mean it doesn't exist," he added.

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