Cumbria Police sorry for black drug dealer image in appeal leaflet

The leaflet's aim was to appeal for information about drug supply

A police force has apologised after using an image of a black person dealing drugs in an anti-drugs leaflet.

Cumbria Constabulary said it accepted it used a poor choice of image in the leaflet, which appealed for information about crimes.

Campaigning organisation Anti Racist Cumbria said the image perpetuated "racist stereotypes" and some black people felt "watched".

The force said the leaflet had been withdrawn from circulation.

A police spokesman said: "We are aware of concerns raised regarding a leaflet which includes an image of a black person dealing drugs.

"Following feedback, the constabulary accept that this was a poor choice of image.

"Immediate action has been taken to remove this material from further use and additional processes have been put in place to ensure appropriate imagery is used in future material.

"The constabulary apologise for the offence this has caused."

'Create division'

A spokeswoman for Anti Racist Cumbria said: "For us, this is not about offence and more about the real impact on people in our communities.

"This kind of imagery perpetuates racist stereotypes and could put communities under suspicion for no reason.

"We must consider that only around one per cent of our population is black and we have already heard from some local residents that they fear being more 'watched' as a direct result of this leaflet.

"That's not good for community relations."

"It's right that police reach out to encourage vigilance. However, when that imagery implies that dealers are black that could create division where there isn't any."