Report on Scottish Stop and Search rate by PhD candidate Kath Murray sparks debate
Fri 17 January 2014
The report, written by Edinburgh Law School PhD candidate Kath Murray revealed the shocking statistic following a study that surveyed nationwide police records. These revealed that there were 64 searches per 1000 people in 2010 compared with only 17 searches per 1000 in England and Wales.
The report's revelations have gained the attention of the media today with BBC Radio Scotland, the Herald and the Guardian covering the study's findings. Scotland's Commissioner for Children and Young People, Tam Baillie and Chair of the Scottish Human Rights Commission, Alan Miller both took part in radio interviews criticising the widespread increase in the tactic and warning of the potential human rights issues. Mr Baillie also referred to the Edinburgh Study indicating the negative outcomes for those who are repeatedly stopped and searched by the police.
The full press articles can be read by following the links below:
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/jan/17/police-stop-and-search-scotland
The University of Edinburgh News summarised some of the Key findings from the study.
The research examined the records of Scotland’s eight forces between 2005 and 2010 and showed that that most searches were carried out on a non-statutory basis, which means police do not need reasonable suspicion to stop an individual.
The study also concluded that there was huge variation between regions, and that searches tended to disproportionately impact on young people in some parts of Scotland.
The report is part of a doctoral research project at the University of Edinburgh. The research is based on police records that predate the merger of eight forces into Police Scotland in 2013.
Stop and search in Strathclyde
Prior to the merger, Strathclyde was identified as the force most likely to use stop and search.
Despite having a 43 per cent share of Scotland’s population and accounting for a 53 per cent share of Scotland’s drug and weapons offences, Strathclyde Police carried out an 84 per cent share of stop searches.
Officers in Strathclyde carried out ten times more stop and searches (372,900) than the next nearest force, Lothian and Borders (37,700).
The research also showed that Central (39 searches per 1000) and Lothian and Borders (30 searches per 1000) were third and fourth highest for stop and search in Great Britain.
Non-statutory searches
The report highlights the extensive use of non-statutory stop and search, which is premised on verbal consent rather than legislation. In 2010, nearly three-quarters of searches in Scotland were carried out on this basis.
Detection rates for non-statutory searches were around 7 per cent, compared with an 18 per cent detection rate for searches based on reasonable suspicion.
The report suggests that non-statutory stop and search was more likely to be used as a deterrent, although no direct association could be drawn between searches and falling levels of recorded offending.
Teenagers more likely to be searched
The research indicated that young people aged between 15 and 20 years were nearly three times more likely to be searched than those in their early 20s.
In 2010 approximately 500 children aged 10 years and under were stopped and searched. Approximately 80 per cent of the searches carried out on under-10 year olds were non-statutory.
Kath Murray said about the study's findings:
While it is concerning that the use of stop and search has continued to increase under the single service, Police Scotland is now in an ideal position to make sure that stop and search is used fairly, consistently and on the basis of reasonable suspicion. Transparency and accountability are also essential to fair policing, which means that it’s important to ensure that accurate and detailed data on stop and search is routinely published.