Dorset Police 'sorry' for 'racial profiling' Facebook ad

Campaigners said the image was an example of "racial profiling" on social media

Dorset Police has apologised after it received complaints that a Facebook post about drug dealing used a picture of a young black man.

Stand Up To Racism Dorset (SUTR) said the image "gave an unjustifiable message - that young black men are responsible for drug trafficking".

Deputy Chief Constable Scott Chilton apologised "to those who felt offended by the use of this particular image".

The picture was taken from a poster designed by the Home Office.

Mary Mullett of SUTR said it encouraged "the very kind of divisive racism that the police should be working to eradicate", while SUTR said it was an example of "racial profiling by the force on social media".

'Victims, not offenders'

Mr Chilton said: "We will continue to promote a victim focused approach to reducing the impact of county lines on young lives and part of that is the need to raise awareness of county line exploitation among the public.

"Sometimes we use national campaign materials to do this... this social media graphic was one of several used for an historic county lines campaign featuring young people from different backgrounds.

"Each of these images featured victims of county lines exploitation - not offenders."

The force also used this picture on social media to warn about county lines drug dealing

He added: "Any vulnerable young person... from any background could be a victim of exploitation by county lines gangs and we are committed to protecting all vulnerable people from the harm."

He said Dorset Police would "continually review both our communication materials and our ways of engaging with all our communities" and "always endeavour to take feedback on any of our campaign materials on board".

Martyn Underhill, police and crime commissioner for Dorset, said: "I was disappointed to see the use of this graphic, which was taken from a national publicity campaign that had previously been developed by the Home Office.

"While I understand the man depicted in the image was intended to be portrayed as a victim of county lines gangs rather than an offender, I appreciate that point may not have been clear."

Ms Mullett said the campaign went a long way to explaining the high rates of stop and searches of black people in Dorset.

Nationally, black people are eight times more likely to be stopped and searched than white people, but a report revealed that in Dorset it was 25 times more likely.

The force has removed the image from its Facebook page and said it will not be using it again.