Justice Secretary Neil Gray said the Scottish government fully supported the police to take “appropriate and proportionate action to safeguard public safety”.
He added: “Stop and search is a valuable tool in combating crime and keeping people safe.
“We continue to work with partners to tackle and prevent youth violence and in particular knife crime, alongside education, diversion and mentoring programmes.”
Assistant Chief Constable Wendy Middleton said intelligence-led stop and search was a “valuable and effective policing tactic”.
She added: “This tactic must be used lawfully, proportionately and in line with the code of practice, introduced in 2017, for which we have a high compliance rate.
“The code has a dedicated section for children and provides guidance for officers when making a decision to stop and search a child using the appropriate statutory power.
“All searches carried out are subject to governance and review in line with scrutiny arrangements to confirm they comply with the code of practice being lawful, necessary and proportionate.”
