By Adam Morris
Stop-and-search guidelines for police officers in Scotland are to be changed and presented to parliament within weeks, 1919 has learned.
Ministers want to review the code of practice and have now concluded a lengthy consultation process.
The Scottish Government has confirmed the results will be put before MSPs next month.
Some senior officers are understood to be concerned that the new code of practice may make it even more difficult for officers to search someone they suspect of wrongdoing or carrying weapons and drugs.
The issue is politically sensitive across the UK, with campaign groups suggesting some people are more likely to be targeted for reasons beyond suspicion of criminality.
Opposition politicians are split on the level of power that Police Scotland should have when searching someone who has not been arrested.
“Stop-and-search is a vital part of policing, and an incredibly important way of reducing crime and keeping the public safe,” said David Kennedy, general secretary of the Scottish Police Federation (SPF).
“There are already a number of obstacles in the way of an officer who strongly suspects wrongdoing, the potential for serious crime, or a welfare issue.
“Figures show serious crime is on the rise and more people are prepared to carry a weapon.
“We need to remove some of those obstacles, and officers will hope an updated code of practice may be the start of a smoother and more efficient process.”
“There are already a number of obstacles in the way of an officer who strongly suspects wrongdoing, the potential for serious crime, or a welfare issue”
David Kennedy, Scottish Police Federation general secretary
In 2025/26, police officers conducted more than 40,000 stop-and-search procedures.
Around a quarter of those were positive, with thousands of people found with drugs, deadly weapons, stolen goods, alcohol and firearms.
In July, 1919 revealed there were 145 instances of a child being caught with a knife last year, including those as young as 11, a significant annual increase.
The Scottish Government’s final proposals are not known, but former justice secretary Angela Constance put a major emphasis on “fairness, justice and respect for human rights” in her ministerial foreword to the plans.
She added that the revised code would focus on searches being “lawful, proportionate and accountable”.
Her post-election replacement, Neil Gray, is taking a more robust line when discussing stop-and-search, and has described it as a “valuable tool”.
He told 1919: “The Scottish Government fully supports Police Scotland to take appropriate action to safeguard public safety. Stop and search is a valuable tool in combating crime and keeping people safe.”
Police Scotland has said it is “committed to fully engaging” with the exercise. But opposition political parties have stronger views.
“Scotland’s police officers need fewer barriers to doing their jobs, not more,” said Scottish Conservative justice spokesperson Stephen Kerr. “The rights of suspects should never be put ahead of the safety of victims and the wider public.
“These new rules must back our brave frontline officers to act decisively and use their professional judgement to keep Scotland’s streets safe.”
In contrast, the Scottish Liberal Democrats’ justice spokesperson Yi-pei Chou Turvey said: “The old system of industrial scale police stop-and-search saw people searched en masse without good reason, and deemed children under 10 capable of consenting to being searched.
“Despite all that it was extraordinarily ineffective. The code remains an important part of ensuring the right information is recorded and abuses can’t occur.”
The Scottish Government confirmed that responses to the consultation will be published shortly, with formal proposals put before MSPs in September.