The police practice of stop and search in Scotland was at one time being conducted at a rate about seven times higher than that of the London Metropolitan Police. It was unaccountable, largely unrecorded and mostly ‘ignored’ by political leaders and the media.

That all changed with findings from PhD research in Edinburgh in 2014. Since then, Police Scotland and the academic community have travelled a long, and at times, very bumpy journey of consultation, evaluation, reform and governance. Once the model of what ‘not’ to do in times of challenge, Police Scotland now actively engage with others to develop policy and practice from a stronger evidence base and can serve as a model to other police forces in this regard.

Dr Megan O’Neill as she discussed her role in the stop and search journey in Scotland and explores how researchers can actually change our daily lives.