Waltham Forest police presented stop and search statistics to the council at a meeting last night but did not include the ethnicity of those stopped in their presentation.

Inspector Kevin Kane gave statistics from across Waltham Forest from January to March 2018, but was questioned on the missing information.

In response, he said: “It’s definitely out there.”

The meeting’s chairman, Sandra DaCosta, was frustrated by the response.

She said: “The police need to provide this data. We have asked for it before.”

Ms DaCosta noted the information could be found on the police’s public facing platform, known as MOPAC.

However, she said: “I know there are access issues. I find it’s not that friendly to use.”

A stop and search is when a police officer stops and searches a person or vehicle for stolen or illegal items.

A stop and search can only, normally, be carried out if an officer has “reasonable grounds” for suspicion.

Following multiple stabbings in Walthamstow recently, stop and searches have become more common.

Walthamstow MP, Stella Creasy, said: “I know the majority are in favour of stop and searches. But we need this information.”

There were 1076 stop and searches in Waltham Forest between January 1 and March 31 2018.

Of those, 283 were said to have had “positive outcomes.”

Positive outcomes include an arrest or a caution.

From all stop and searches, 43 offensive weapons were seized. This includes knives and guns.

One blade recovered from a youth outside Buxton School, E11, was 15 centimetres long.

A search outside Leyton Sixth Form, E10, saw a male arrested and charged with possession of a serrated knife. He was also charged with six burglaries.

180 stop and searches resulted in seizure of drugs or drug paraphernalia.

A male was arrested following a stop and search on Forest Road, E17. The man was caught with 80 wraps of class A drugs.

40 stops saw the recovery of stolen goods.

The majority of total stops were recorded for drugs related offences.