'Black people are over-policed' says chief constable

Only 0.5% of Dorset Police officers are black

A chief constable has apologised to black communities for "institutional racism" within her police force.

Launching a Race Action Plan, Amanda Pearson said black people in Dorset were "over-policed, under-protected [and] under-represented".

They were more likely to be stopped and searched, arrested and handcuffed than the rest of the county population, the plan said.

Ms Pearson added: "Trauma and harm has been and continues to be caused to black people and communities as a consequence."

In an open letter on the police website, Ms Pearson said there was clear evidence of racism from reviews she had commissioned since joining the force in March 2023.

She wrote: "I therefore am writing to acknowledge institutional racism within our organisation.

"I do not, hand on heart, believe that I am leading an organisation where the majority of our officers, staff or volunteers hold racist views or act in overtly or intentionally racist ways.

"Therefore, there must be something in our systems, policies and processes that creates this unfairness and inequality."

Chief constable Amanda Pearson said her force had caused "trauma and harm"

The Race Action Plan said Dorset police officers took 10 hours longer to find a black, high-risk missing person.

Within the force, 89% of ethnically diverse colleagues had experienced racial bias within the past two years, the plan reported.

Only 0.5% of officers were black, it added.

Dorset Police officers were 10 times more likely to stop and search black people, it said.

The disparity for stop and searches was wider than the national average, according to Home Office figures for the year ending in March 2023.

In September, the force said it had recorded 97 complaints of racial misconduct against officers in the last five years.

Responding to a Freedom of Information request, it said four officers had been dismissed and six suspended.

Ms Pearson said the force would review all areas of its work, delivering changes by September 2025.