Social justice
STOP AND
(RE)SEARCH MAKES
THE DIFFERENCE
Infl uencing Police Scotland’s
stop and search policy
T
he subject of many a column
inch and government debate,
the stop and search procedure
has been reformed with non-statutory
searches of adults and children now
at an end.
The recording of seizures and the
publication of data online are also
among the changes implemented and
Police Scotland has been praised for
the improvements it has made to the
procedure across the country.
At the heart of this positive change has
been the force’s work with academia.
In 2015, in partnership with Dr Megan
O’Neill from the University of Dundee,
Edinburgh Napier’s Dr Liz Aston
evaluated a stop and search scheme
being piloted by the Fife Division
of Police Scotland.
67%
REDUCTION
IN STOP AND
SEARCHES
APR-SEP 2016
COMPARED TO APR-SEP 2015
Funded by The Scottish Institute
for Policing Research and Police
Scotland, the team investigated the
implementation of a new approach
and assessed the extent to which
the desired outcomes of the pilot
had been achieved.
Despite the findings praising Fife
Division for its efforts to make
stop and search more accountable
and to address public concerns
about the measures, a number
of recommendations were made,
including the introduction of face-to-
face training for police constables,
the tracking of individuals who
have been previously stopped and
searched, alongside the ultimate end
to consensual stop and searches.
A new report, published in March
2017 by the HM Inspectorate
of Constabulary in Scotland
(HMICS), acknowledged significant
improvements made by Police
Scotland, and found that 96 per cent
of stop and searches are now being
made using legislative powers.
Dr Liz Aston, senior lecturer in
Criminology, said: “We welcome
the changes that have been made
by Police Scotland on stop and
search in response to the findings
23
Interested
in this project?
Dr Liz Aston
School of
Applied Sciences
[email protected]
of our evaluation of the Fife Pilot,
and the recommendations of various
scrutiny bodies.
“Through working with Police
Scotland’s Research and Evaluation
Operational Review Group on stop
and search we aim to ensure that
further research is conducted on this
important topic and the concerns
about these changes, which have
been expressed by officers and
the Scottish Police Federation,
are explored.”
HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary
Derek Penman said: “It’s a really good
example of how worthwhile academic
research can land in a practical
situation and make a real difference
to the way the police conduct
their business.”