Asian people face highest rate of police fining in England, says report

ASIAN people have been issued fixed-penalty notices (FPN) ‘disproportionately’ during lockdown in England and Wales, a police report has revealed.

According to analysis, English and Welsh police forces issued 17,039 fines during the two months analysed – a rate of only three per 10,000 people. However, rates were highest for Asian people at 4.7 per 10,000.

This was followed by black people (4.6), mixed (3.1) and other minority ethnic people (2.6).

The report, published on Monday (27) by the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC), confirmed that those from ethnic groups were 1.6 times more likely to be fined than white people. Statistics relating to BAME men showed they were nearly four times more likely to be fined than young white males.

The chair of the NPCC, Martin Hewitt, said he was concerned to see the level of disparity between white and people from ethnic minority groups.

“Each force will be looking at this carefully to assess and mitigate any risks of bias – conscious or unconscious – and to minimise disproportionate impact wherever possible,” Hewitt said.

Hewitt noted many forces had brought in community representatives to help them scrutinise the circumstances around each fixed penalty notice and if it has been issued fairly.

He added: “We are working to develop a plan of action to address issues of inclusion and race equality that still exist in policing – like the lower trust in us from black communities, their concerns about use of powers like stop and search, and the concerns from people of colour within policing about inclusivity and equality at work. The findings of this analysis will be further considered as part of that work.”

Data revealed the highest overall disparity rates were in Cumbria, North Yorkshire and Lancashire. In these areas, those from a Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds were 6.5 times, 5.6 times and five times more likely to be fined than white people respectively.

In North Yorkshire, data showed one in 10 notices were handed to Asian males aged between 18 and 34. However, nine in 10 Black, Asian or other non-white people issued fines were visiting from outside the county.

Cheshire Constabulary was the only force which recorded no overall level of ethnic disproportionality, the report said.

However, Hewitt warned for “real caution” in interpretation of local disparity rates given the small numbers involved in some force areas. For instance, in just under half of forces there were fewer than 40 FPNs in total issued to black, Asian or minority ethnic people – much less than one FPN a day over the two month period across each force area.

“Additionally the national analysis is based on a whole force area and doesn’t take account of the very local demographics in that area,” he said.

Rural and coastal forces which attract tourists, he added, issued significantly more FPNs to non-residents, which has significantly affected the level of disparity between white and people from black, Asian and other minority ethnic backgrounds compared with other forces who issued fewer relatively to non-residents.

The analysis also found that young women (18-24) from a BAME background were slightly under-represented (among those issued with FPNs) as in the general population.