In August and September, Police Scotland’s controversial “stop and search” practice has been found to be successful in only 21% of cases in Mid-Scotland and Fife.
A combined total of 3186 people, were stopped in Perth and Kinross, Fife, Stirling and Clackmannanshire during August and September of which 699 searches yielded positive results.
Official figures from London's Metropolitan force reveal that Police Scotland conducted three times as many searches during this two-month period than the capital's force - a force which polices a population greater than that of Scotland.
Compared with the same time period in 2013, the number of stop-and-searches declined in all council areas with the exception of Fife
Murdo Fraser MSP said:
“Stop and search is a valuable tool to detect and deter crime, but only if used proportionately and not abused.
“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.”