The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Justice Secretary says stop and search shook his trust in police
The Justice Secretary has revealed how his trust in the police wavered when he was repeatedly stopped and searched by officers because of his ethnicity.
Humza Yousaf, who is tipped as a potential successor to Nicola Sturgeon, said he was singled out as a young Asian male, often when he was in a group of white people.
Recounting his experiences to a Scottish Police Federation fringe meeting at the SNP conference yesterday, the Glasgow MSP said he was subjected to stop and search more than 12 times.
“Sometimes at the airport, but when I was younger in the street or in my car or a friend’s car, sometimes at railway stations as well,” he told SNP delegates in Glasgow.
“I was never committing a crime, I had never committed a crime and sometimes I was the only brown face in a group of white people and I’d be the one – especially at airports – who was told to stand to the side and be questioned.
“It just wasn’t great for my trust in the police.”
He told the conference the crime detection measure is in a “much better place now”.
Mr Yousaf, a Scottish-Pakistani, said: “There has to be checks and balances on stop and search, but equally there’s a question to be asked and we always keep that under review.
“It is a legitimate policing tactic and we shouldn’t take that away from the police.”
Police Scotland says people will not be stopped and searched because of their age, sex, ethnic background or religion. It adds: “Police Scotland recognises that stopping and searching members of the public is a significant intrusion into their personal liberty and privacy and is committed to ensuring that when it is necessary to stop and search a person it is carried out in a manner that is lawful, proportionate and accountable.”