Black people SEVEN times more likely to be searched by police while 'random stops' increase by a third

The number of people stopped by police on the streets has soared by a third year-on-year, bringing a massive rise in form-filling for front line officers.

Figures from the Ministry of Justice revealed yesterday that officers carried out 1.87million 'stops' in 2006-2007 - up from 1.4million the previous year - along with almost a million stop-and-searches.

In every case they had to fill in a 1ft-long form to record every detail of the encounter, including the suspect's ethnic background.

Typically it took an officer eight minutes at the scene, and another 17 minutes of police time to process the information later.

Tory critics said yesterday the paperwork is taking up more than 1.2million hours of patrol time - equal to more than 500 officers.

They pledged to scrap the forms and replace them with far simpler recording of basic data.

The paperwork accompanying the use of the powers was introduced after the Stephen Lawrence case, in response to concerns that officers were disproportionately targeting black men.

Separate figures showed black people were seven times more likely to be 'stopped and searched' by police than white people in 2006/07, a slightly higher ratio than in the previous 12 months.

Asian people were 2.2 times more likely to be stopped and searched than whites, compared with a rate of 2.1 in the previous 12 months.

In the different category of police 'stops', black people were 2.5 times more likely to be stopped than whites, the figures for England and Wales showed.

After years of complaints over the bureaucratic burden on police the Home Office is considering overhauling the paperwork.

The MoJ figures show that 955,000 stop and searches were carried out in 2006-2007 - the highest figure for seven years - with the most common reasons being suspicion of drugs or stolen property.

Shadow Home Secretary Dominic Grieve welcomed the increased use of what he called 'a vital tool in the battle against knife crime'.

He added: 'That is why we have announced proposals to radically reduce the bureaucracy. If the Government is serious about freeing up our police to combat knife crime, they would adopt our proposals.'

The Home Office pledged further increases in stop and search powers as part of continuing efforts to curb the rise in knife crime.

A spokesman added: 'As with all police powers, they must be exercised efficiently and, importantly, in support of and with support from the local community.'