New Code of Practice for Police ‘Stop-and-Search’ action
New stop-and-search powers have been authorised by the Scottish Parliament.
The new code was unanimously approved by parliament following concerns over the number of people being searched without legal basis.
The rules state that searches must be “necessary, proportionate and in accordance with the law”. Non-statutory or “consensual” stop-and-searches are now banned entirely.
The new code of practice was drawn up by an advisory group led by John Scott QC. It states that stopping and searching must be done for a good reason and be both “necessary and proportionate”. Police officers must have “reasonable suspicions” based on “facts, information and/or intelligence before stopping any person.
Read more: https://news.gov.scot/news/new-police-code
Image credit: Steven Straiton, Flickr