POLICE chiefs have defended the use of stop and search powers for black and Asian people as new figures show it is not meeting equality targets.

Thames Valley Police has yet to hit a target it agreed with equality bosses over use of stop and search in Oxford and across the force area.

It agreed to cut searches by September 2012 after being threatened with legal action by the Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) in 2010.

The commission said the force had “demonstrated significant and persistent race differences” in its use of the powers.

City searches of black and Asian people went up from July to September, compared to the previous three months.

Assistant Chief Constable Richard Bennett said he could not speculate why searches had gone up, though he said seasons played a role.

He added: “Thames Valley Police ensures that every stop and search that is carried out by an officer is lawful, proportionate and necessary.”

He said stop and search was “a valuable tool in tackling criminality” but the force recognised its use must be carefully applied, he said.

Graham Smith, chairman of the force branch of the Police Federation, which represents rank and file officers, said: “We don’t stop people because of the colour of their skin, we stop them because we think they are up to something.

“If we are 100 per cent over the target but the searches are deemed proportionate and within the law, then that is the way it is.”

The target is for every 1,000 white people, one should be stopped and searched.

For the black community, the guidelines state no more than 3.2 should be stopped and searched for every 1,000.

The figure for stop and searches for black people was 3.4 across the force from July to September and 3.7 in Oxford.

The same ratio for Asian people is 1.5 – the most recent local figures are 2.0 across Thames Valley and 2.2 in Oxford.

Some 61 black and 85 Asian people were searched in the city, compared to 486 white people, from July to September. From April to June, 48 black and 48 Asian people were searched.

The target is the same for all areas in the Thames Valley. Only one other force – Leicestershire – has a similar agreed target with the EHRC.

Reasons Oxford officers carried out searches were “suspicious action”, reports from the public or CCTV and the smell of cannabis.

About one in five searches for white, black and Asian people resulted in a “positive outcome” such as recovery of drugs and stolen property.

Latest figures show the city’s black population is about 5,500, the Asian population is about 12,700 and the white population is about 120,100.

Greater Leys youth worker Rory Campbell, 28, said of the figures: “It is not good enough.”