I am writing to clarify the representation of my comments to your investigations editor (Police chief admits to fake stop and search figures, News, March 23).
The headline misrepresents the general message I was putting across, which was that the majority of these figures were correct and that I have seen no evidence that any figures had been "made up".
If the claims that some figures have been made up were true this would be subject to disciplinary action and I would welcome any concerns officers wished to put to me regarding any such behaviour.
Police Scotland works within the context of an ethical and legal performance framework which is robustly monitored at both command and local level as well as through regular reports to the Scottish Police Authority, through HMICS inspections and local authority scrutiny arrangements.
Public confidence in policing in Scotland is high. The public consistently tell us that violent crime is one of their key concerns.
Stop and search is one of a number of policing tactics our officers are encouraged to use to remove weapons, particularly knives, drugs and alcohol, from our streets to help keep people safe. In relation to stop and search, officers are not set individual targets.
However, it is entirely appropriate that Police Scotland works towards performance targets on key priorities, such as violence, which the public tell us are the most important for them.
Sir Stephen House
Chief Constable,
Police Scotland
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