Most Stop And Searches Unsuccessful

The vast majority of police stop and searches in Fife find nothing.

According to figures, only 410 out of more than two thousand had what police call a "positive result".

The police watchdog has recommended officers review their use of the controversial practice.

Fife Tory MSP Murdo Fraser said stop and search is "a valuable tool to detect and deter crime, but only if used proportionately and not abused."

He said: “Questions must be raised over the success of stop and search and whether a more targeted system of crime prevention could be used.
 
“With Fife witnessing a 6% increase in crime and  being the only area to witness an increase in stop and searches, it can only be assumed that this method isn’t working.
 
“A one-size-fits-all approach can’t and won’t work and Police Scotland should be alert to this.
 
“Not only are there questions over the consistency of this policy but there are real concerns over its success rate with only 19% of searches yielding positive results in Fife and 24% in Perth and Kinross.”