Why it matters: The figures raise questions about racial disparities in local policing practices at a time when police forces nationwide are working to build trust with BAME communities.
By the numbers: The county has approximately 10,200 black residents and 708,000 white residents. Officers used forceful tactics 428 times against black individuals and 6,571 times against white people last year, meaning that:
Force was used 42 times per 1,000 black individuals
And nine times per 1,000 white people
The national picture: Across England and Wales, excluding the Metropolitan Police, black people were 3.2 times more likely to experience police use of force than white people in the year to March, according to the Home Office data.
What they're saying:
Stephen Walcott, senior researcher at the Runnymede Trust, called the disparities "concerning" and urged investment in "communities and societal infrastructure that addresses the social and material conditions which lead to crime."
The National Police Chiefs' Council says it is working to understand the "disproportionality" and remains committed to building "an inclusive, anti-racist organisation."
A Home Office spokesperson emphasised that "nobody should be treated differently based on their race or ethnicity" and that all police force must be "reasonable, proportionate and necessary."
Between the lines: The data comes as police forces face increased scrutiny over their use of force and treatment of BAME communities.
The bottom line: While Suffolk Constabulary's overall use of force incidents represent a small portion of the 1.1 million recorded nationally, the racial disparity exceeds the national average.
