SCOTTISH police don't know what stop-searches are and don't know how to count them, according to a damning independent review of the tactic.

HM Inspector of Constabulary Derek Penman uncovered a real lack of clarity over stop-search powers and practices among Scotland's rank-and-file officers.

And the watchdog also found that many officers felt there were targets for them to carry out more searches and that this drove "negative behaviours".

Mr Penman's secured widespread agreement for a new code of practice on stop-searching.

Police Scotland agreed to a whole series of recommendations while the Scottish Government appointed an independent human rights lawyer, John Scott QC, to look at whether the law needs to change.

Mr Penman's views echo outstanding concerns from within Police Scotland over the tactic, which has been championed by Chief Constable Sir Stephen House since he first took over the old Strathclyde force in 2007.

Sir Stephen last month admitted that hundreds of thousands alcohol seizures were wrongly counted as a stop-searches.

The national force has come under increasing political scrutiny over what its own numbers have made look like a tactic of mass frisking, including of children.

The Scottish Police Federation (SPF), which represents the rank and file, has long argued that Scottish statistics for stop-and-search were being inflated - and that resulting meaningless figures were sparking political controversy.

Last month an an SPF said the situation could be "best summarised by saying 'the numbers are guff'".

Mr Penman - also in line with academics - suggested that there was not enough evidence on how effective stop and search was in reducing crime.

The force supported a code of conduct and outlined three options for the future of so-called voluntary or consensual stop and searches.

These were:

* first, keeping the consensual option open but moving to a presumption of greater use of statutory stop and searches where an officer compels a member of the public to be search on the basis of specific suspicion;

* second, ending consensual stop and search completely;

* third, ending consensual stop and search for "a defined age group".

These options will now be considered by Mr Scott's group, which will report back by August.