§ Mr. Maxtonasked the Solicitor-General for Scotland how many of those stopped under section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act and found to be in possession of offensive weapons were subsequently convicted.
The Solicitor-General for ScotlandIn the period from 1 June 1981 to 31 May 1982, of a total of 881 persons searched in terms of the power in section 4 of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 1980, 292 persons were found to be in possession of offensive weapons. I cannot state how many of those persons were subsequently convicted. The figures for persons convicted of an offence under section 1 of the Prevention of Crime Act 1953 are not yet available for the comparable period of time, but, in any event, when available they will show only the total number of persons 527W so convicted without separately identifying those in respect of whom the power of search, contained in section 4 of the 1980 Act, was utilised.