Black people in Britian are more likely to be charged with drugs possession than white people, a study has found.
According to the London School of Economics (LSE) and drug law charity Release, black people are 6.3 times more likely to be searched by British police than their white peers in England and Wales.
Using data from the Metropolitan Police, the study also found that black people are five times more likely to face imprisonment for drug possession than white offenders committing the same offence.
Executive director of Release Niamh Eastwood said this is not because they are more likely to use drugs but because of Å“the way in which they are policed”.
She also criticized governmentâ„¢s stop-and-search for drugs operations, saying that the issue should be taken out of police hand to end unnecessary search of innocent people every year.
Å“Drugs is what is driving stop-and-search and it’s what is driving racial disparity within the criminal justice system,” Eastwood said.
MOS/HE
Republished from: Press TV