Appeal for evidence on police stop and search

The Scottish government has called for submissions of written evidence on the policy and practice of stop and search by police officers in Scotland.

The evidence will be used to inform the recommendations made to justice secretary Michael Matheson by the Independent Advisory Group on Stop and Search chaired by John Scott QC.

The government has come under increasing pressure from opposition parties to re-examine Police Scotland’s controversial stop and search strategy after a series of revelations about the implementation of the policy.

In February, Police Scotland chief constable Sir Stephen House told MSPs that 20,000 pieces of data on stop and search had been inadvertently lost due to human error.

In April, the force banned officers from continuing to carry out consensual stop and searches on children under the age of 12.

Responses to the consultation are requested by 3 July 2015. You can find more information on the Scottish government website.