End non-statutory stop and search, says Human Rights chair

Non-statutory stop and search by police in Scotland should end, the Scottish Human Rights Commission claimed today.

Calling for an end to the practice, which accounted for about 70% of the 600,000 searches carried out by police in 2013-14, Professor Alan Miller, Chair of the Commission, argued that the practice would be unlikely to survive a legal challenge in court.

Police are allowed by statute to stop and search on an individual whom they have reasonable suspicion is in possession of certain prohibited items, but many other searches are carried out on a so-called "consensual" basis. The Commission wants the law strengthened, as has already happened in England & Wales, to safeguard individuals' rights to a private life under article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Professor Miller commented: "All of us should be free to go about our daily business, and the police should only be entitled to stop and search us if they have reasonable suspicion that we are doing something unlawful.

“Police in Scotland have a number of statutory powers to stop and search people. When used appropriately, statutory stop and search can help to keep us all safe. However, the Commission has serious concerns about the legality and scale of non-statutory stop and search of individuals. These searches can be conducted without any reasonable suspicion of a crime being committed or any concern over risk to public safety. This is particularly concerning in the case of children and other vulnerable people.

“In our view, any stop and search should take place within a clear legal framework. Without this, current police practice is open to legal challenge. Should such a challenge be successful, as is likely, emergency reactive measures would need to be introduced. As recent experience has shown, this would be an unnecessary and unhelpful way of addressing a problem that can and should be solved today.

“The Commission believes that proactive steps should be taken now to strengthen the legal framework within which any and all stop and searches take place. There should be no non-statutory stop and search. This is already the case in England & Wales, where the practice was ended some considerable time ago. Ending the practice in Scotland would clarify the situation for both the public as well as for the police, benefit the relationship between the police and communities and would be a positive and constructive approach to protecting the human rights of us all.”

The Scottish Liberal Democrats are to table amendments to the Scottish Government's Criminal Justice Bill in an attempt to outlaw the practice.

A Police Scotland spokesperson defended the practice, saying: "The use of intelligent stop and search, targeted in the right place at the right time, at the right people and for the right reasons, is an essential part of policing tactics. Police Scotland works within the context of an ethical and legal performance framework, robustly monitored at both command and local level."