Aboriginal Victorians 15 times more likely to be searched by police

Victoria Police said they rejected the findings, made in research released by the Centre Against Racial Profiling.

Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service chief executive Nerita Waight said the report reinforced concerns officers were engaging in racist policing practices. Source: AAP / JAMES ROSS/AAPIMAGE

Police are facing accusations of racial profiling, with new data showing Aboriginal, African, Middle Eastern and Pacific Island communities are disproportionately targeted in searches.

Officers are more than 15 times more likely to search Aboriginal Victorians than those perceived as white, research from the Centre Against Racial Profiling has found.

The report, based on Victoria Police data obtained under freedom of information laws, suggests racialised communities are subjected to over-policing that frequently escalates into police violence.

Report author Tamar Hopkins says the data shows racial profiling continues to be a problem. (James Ross/AAP PHOTOS) Credit: JAMES ROSS/AAPIMAGE

Aboriginal people were also 10 times more likely to experience force or threats of force and police were 13 times more likely to use Tasers on those perceived to be Aboriginal.

Tamar Hopkins, the author of the report released on Monday, described the data as extraordinary, saying it clearly shows an over-representation of particular groups.

"We are seeing this in everyday policing that is going on by ordinary police in the suburbs, rural and metropolitan areas," Dr Hopkins said.

Victoria Police said the organisation had a zero-tolerance policy towards racial profiling.

It banned racial profiling in 2015 and released a report in 2013 on tackling equity in policing after settling a Federal Court claim.

"Assertions made in this research are incorrect. It is not mandatory for police to record ethnic appearance information when conducting all searches," a police spokesperson told AAP.

"It's important to clarify use of force includes not just physical force but when police merely threaten to use force. For Tasers, this includes when members draw their device but it's never actually discharged.

"This is the case in close to nine out of every 10 incidents involving Tasers."

Dr Hopkins said the police statement was disappointing, adding the force should be more open with its internal data.

"We have seen again and again that the data is showing that racial profiling continues to be a problem by the police. The fact they stand there and deny these results is a form of gaslighting really," she said.

Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service chief executive Nerita Waight said the report reinforced concerns officers were engaging in racist policing practices.

Ms Waight said the rates outlined in the report were astonishing.

Nerita Waight believes racial profiling happens systemically and excessively in Victoria. (James Ross/AAP PHOTOS) Source: AAP / JAMES ROSS/AAPIMAGE

"Abuses of power and discrimination against Aboriginal people by Victoria Police is not the case of a 'few bad apples,'" she said in a statement.

"This is something that continues to happen systemically and excessively.

"This initial contact with police forges a path that our community are disproportionately familiar with - being forced to interact with the criminal legal system."

The report calls on the state government to take racial profiling seriously, with Dr Hopkins saying an independent body should be established to investigate police misconduct.

Dr Hopkins hopes Australia's first treaty legislation could put pressure on Victoria Police to enact change.