A stop and search scheme piloted by Fife Division of Police Scotland is to be evaluated by researchers at Dundee and Edinburgh Napier universities.
Dr Megan O’Neill of Dundee and Napier’s Dr Liz Aston, both members of the Scottish Institute of Policing Research (SIPR), will lead a team investigating the impact of a new approach to stop and search being trialled in Fife.
The evaluation is being funded by SIPR and the Scottish Police Authority.
While police officers claim stop and search is a vital tool for law enforcement and crime prevention, civil liberties groups and other organisations have raised concerns that such methods unfairly target certain demographics.
The Fife project started in July and will last until February. It aims to inform the public why searches are carried out, and explain the rights of the individual. Researchers will analyse police data in two areas of Fife, and compare that to data from another division of Police Scotland.
Chief Superintendent Garry McEwan, Police Commander for the Fife Division, said researchers were being given full access to all the information and staff they need.
