Seven babies aged just one were subjected to police searches in Tayside and Fife last year, new figures have revealed.
The data showed that 654 Scottish children under 12 were formally checked in 2014 despite a police boss telling a Holyrood committee in June the “indefensible” practice of consensual searches on children under that age would be scrapped.
It was also revealed that teenagers in Courier Country were 42 times more likely to be stopped by police than over-65s.
However, in one incident a man aged 89 was searched by officers in Dundee.
Now Assistant Chief Constable Wayne Mawson could be recalled to parliament and questioned on the shock evidence, which showed:In Dundee, five one-year-olds were searched. One baby of the same age was searched in each of Fife and Perth and Kinross. A 12-year old boy is around three times more likely to be searched than his 60-year-old grandad. A 12-year-old girl more likely to be searched than her 53-year-old aunt. An Angus 18-year-old boy is more than 13 times more likely to be searched than a girl the same age. In Dundee you are five times more likely to be stopped once you turn 13 than the year before. A total of 24 Travelling people were stopped in Fife, six in Angus, seven in Dundee and nine in Perth and Kinross. People with an ethnicity other than white UK or Ireland were stopped 16,262 times (around 4% of total). In Perth and Kinross, officers stopped 373 people per 10,000 population compared to 618 in Dundee, 276 in Fife and 238 in Angus.Scottish Liberal Democrat justice spokeswoman Alison McInnes said: “People deserve to know why Police Scotland haven’t kept their word on scrapping this unregulated and illiberal position.
“If it is the case that this practice is continuing, it would be reasonable to question if the police misled parliament.”
Scottish Labour’s justice spokesman, Hugh Henry, added: “Police Scotland has searched 654 children in Scotland between January and November last year in the same time the Metropolitan Police searched 19.
“Is it the opinion of Police Scotland that Scotland’s children are more likely to commit crimes than the children of London?”
Assistant Chief Constable Nelson Telfer said: “Police officers will positively engage with young people and children and there are times when that engagement may move to a search which can result in the use of stop and search and often the removal of alcohol, cigarettes and other items.”
He added: “Last year Police Scotland announced an undertaking to cease consensual searching of children less than 12 years of age.
“To support this decision, we have been reviewing searches of those aged between one and 11. This review is ongoing.”