Code of practice for stop and search in Scotland: six-month review

5 Change in the use of Section 60 authorisations

During the IAGSS deliberations, concern was expressed that after phasing out consensual search there may be an increase in the use of so-called ‘no suspicion’ searches by Police Scotland under Section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994. Data provided by the National Stop and Search Unit showed there had been only one authorisation under Section 60 since the implementation of the CoP. This was for the Scotland versus England World Cup qualification football match at Hampden Park in Glasgow on 10 ^th June 2017. However, no section 60 searches were recorded for this event. This provides strong evidence that there has been no increase in the use of Section 60 authorisations as a way of creating wider opportunities for search under the CoP. This contrasts strongly with England and Wales, where the power has been used extensively resulting in Home Office criticism and intervention.