A stop and search pilot project under way in Fife is yielding “encouraging and positive” early results, according to Fife’s police chief.
Under the six-month trial which began in July, police officers must state clearly to people that they have the right to refuse to be searched, except in circumstances where police have reasonable grounds for suspicion or have other statutory grounds to do so.
Officers have also been sending letters to parents of children under the age of 16 who have been stopped and searched, explaining the reasons why their child was targeted.
Police must also record every person they stop and search across the region, as well as the reasons behind their stop and search.
Fife’s divisional commander, Chief Superintendent Garry McEwan, told members of the safer communities committee the purpose of the pilot was to improve transparency and understanding of stop and search.
“The pilot will seek to review and improve analysis, deployment tactics and officer training and the findings of the pilot may further shape Police Scotland’s use of stop and search during 2014/2015,” he said.
He added that despite more than 200 letters being sent out to parents of children who had been subject to a stop and search, no complaints had been received as yet.
“We have had not had one negative response since the pilot started two months ago, which is very encouraging and positive,” he said.
Mr McEwan added independent evaluators from Dundee and Glasgow Universities had been selected to study the pilot and would be conducting their evaluations in the near future.
Committee members were shown a Police Scotland scrutiny board report, which showed the number of positive stop and searches conducted between April 2014 and June 2014 had risen by 22% from the same period the previous year.
It also highlighted one in four stop and searches carried out in Fife were positive.
Mr McEwan said: “There is clear evidence that targeted stop and searches against known offenders at the right time in the right locations impact positively on the levels of crime.”