Consultation on the review of the Stop and Search of Persons in Scotland Code of Practice for Constables: analysis of responses

2. The consultation

2.1 This consultation seeks views on whether the revised Code:

• Clearly defines when and how powers to stop and search may be used
• Adequately outlines safeguards for equality, privacy and human rights and children’s right, in line with relevant legal obligations
• Is accessible and understandable to officers and the public
• Ensures adequate protections for children and young people and vulnerable people
• Provides sufficient data recording and oversight requirements to allow proper scrutiny of powers to stop and search in Scotland

2.2 The consultation contained 20 numbered questions, 11 of these were closed questions (requiring respondents to answer ‘Yes’, ‘No’ or ‘Don’t know’), while the remaining 9 were free-text open questions, which allowed respondents to input further comments.

2.3 The consultation paper was published on the Scottish Government website on 10 February 2026, where respondents could use the online consultation platform Citizen Space to provide their response, or submit their response via email or post.

2.4 The responses to this consultation will be considered and further revisions to the Code may be made as a result. The Scottish Government was keen to hear a wide range of views to help inform its final position on the provisions included in the Code. A number of respondents raised broader issues relating to operational policing practice. While these wider operational matters fall outwith the scope of this consultation, relevant observations have been taken into account where they help inform the content, clarity and safeguards set out in the Code.

About the analysis

2.5 This report is based on an analysis of the responses to the consultation. Quantitative analysis was undertaken in relation to the consultation’s 11 closed questions, and the findings are displayed within tables in the relevant chapters of this report.

2.6 The aim of the qualitative analysis in relation to the 9 open questions in this consultation was to capture a full range of views submitted in response to each question, including areas of contention among different types of respondents. Responses to each open question were manually inputted into a theme grid, which allowed officials to be able to understand the reoccurring themes for each question.

2.7 This consultation received responses from a mix of individual and organisational respondents. A breakdown of the percentages of each can be found within the table accompanying each question.

Understanding the response to the consultation

As with all consultations, the views submitted and presented in this report are not necessarily representative of the views of the wider public. Anyone can submit their views to a consultation, and individuals (and organisations) who have a keen interest in a topic – and the time, ability and capacity to respond – are more likely to participate in a consultation than those who do not. This self-selection means that the views of consultation respondents cannot be generalised to the wider population. For this reason, the main focus in analysing consultation responses is not to identify how many or what proportion of respondents held particular views, but rather to understand the range of views expressed.

The report

2.8 This report is structured as follows:

• Chapter 3 presents information on the responses received and the respondents to this consultation
• Chapters 4 to 11 present the analysis of the responses received to each consultation question in turn
• Chapter 12 provides analysis of the manual open-text responses received

2.9 Annexes to the report are included in the following order:

• Annex 1: List of organisational respondents
• Annex 2: Full list of consultation questions