More people are being arrested than ever before — and the vast majority are black Bermudian men.

Government race relations consultant Rolfe Commissiong said the statistics are unsurprising, but should still cause national concern.

His comments came as Police statistics for the period April to July were published yesterday.

They showed that 1,323 people were detained over that period a 25 percent increase on the same months last year.

Commissioner of Police Michael DeSilva said the number of arrests, along with the number of persons stopped and searched, stand at an "all time record high".

The vast majority of arrests — 89 percent — were of black people, and 83 percent of those detained overall were male.

Most arrestees were young, either aged 18 to 25 (27 percent of the total) or aged 26 to 35 (28 percent of the total.) Around six percent detained by the Police were under the age of 18.

A total of 148 people were arrested more than once during the three-month period.

Mr. Commissiong said: "If one studied previous periods going back decades in this Country, I do not think that the percentages with respect to black male arrest rates would be too much different.

"In a country where approximately 40 percent of the resident population is white — as opposed to the status population — the statistic should give us pause for national concern, even alarm, unless Bermudians view this as being the norm and thus acceptable. I do not."

Mr. Commissiong said work started by Government to address these issues, such as education reform, the Mirrors programme and the Mincy Report on young black males must press on.

"I continue to view young black males as one of Bermuda's most valuable resources, and all of us have a stake in ensuring that their talents and abilities are fully harnessed so that more of them can earn and enjoy the opportunities that Bermuda has to offer," he said.

"Our failure to achieve this to the extent we should obviously continues to bedevil us, as these recent statistics indicate all too vividly."

The Police figures also demonstrate that 1,708 people were stopped and searched in the past three months — more than three times the figure for the same time last year.

Mr. DeSilva said that was also a record high, which he attributed to officers using new powers under the Criminal Code and Police and Criminal Evidence Act.