The former First Minister, Alex Salmond, has expressed concern over proposed changes to stop-and-search in Scotland during a debate in the Scottish Parliament. 

MSPs have approved new legislation that aims to introduce a statutory code for the use of stop and search, however, Mr Salmond said he wanted to see more analysis of how knife crime could be affected. The decision to have a code regarding stop and search came after a report from John Scott QC found that ending the searches would not prevent officers carrying out their duties effectively.

An anti-crime campaigner from one of Scotland’s largest anti-knife groups has stated that the law and punishment for offenders in Scotland lags behind England and the rest of the UK.

Police Scotland seized almost 50 knives and over 180 weapons in the last four academic years from pupils in and around Glasgow.