GWENT Police carried out almost 2,000 more stop and searches last year than the year before, new figures show.

Home Office data shows officers in Gwent used stop and search powers 5,729 times between April 2020 and March 2021 – up from 3,741 in the previous 12 months.

This averages between 15 and 16 searches every day - a rise of 53 per cent - dramatically higher than across England and Wales as a whole, where the number of stop and searches rose from 577,000 in 2019-20 to 704,000 in 2020-21 - an increase of 22 per cent.

This means almost 2,000 people were stopped across the two nations per day on average last year, with figures peaking in mid-May 2020, when there were almost 3,000 searches each day.

The figures also show in Gwent, black people were 5.9 times more likely to be stopped than white people – a slight fall from 8.3 in 2019-20.

Across the two nations, 479,000 (68 per cent of all stops) were for drugs – the highest proportion since records began in 2006-07.

In Gwent, 70 per cent of stop and searches were for this reason – the same proportion as in 2019-20.

The power to stop and search is permitted under section one of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, allowing police to search people and vehicles for things like drugs or a weapon without a warrant.

Temporary Assistant Chief Constable for Gwent Police Ian Roberts said: “Our officers receive training to ensure the proportionate use of powers, including stop and search, and must always have reasonable grounds to do so.

“All stop and searches are intelligence-led. We monitor figures regularly, working with our communities and the independent advisory group (IAG) to ensure transparency and effective learning.

“Officers can use stop and search powers if they have reasonable grounds to suspect that someone is carrying illegal drugs, a weapon, stolen property or something which could be used to a commit a crime.

“We regularly carry out targeted enforcement operations such as Operation Sceptre, which aims to remove dangerous weapons from our streets and reduce knife crime across Gwent.

“We often see an increase in stop and search during these operations as we continue our efforts to keep our communities safe.”

You can view the latest stop and search figures for your area here.