Rajeev Syal
Home affairs editor
THE GUARDIAN
Sun, 18 August 2024
A solidarity rally in March 2022 outside Hackney town hall, east London, supporting Child Q, a 15-year-old black girl who was strip-searched without her parents or any other adults present.Photograph: Sabrina Merolla/Zuma Press Wire/Rex/Shutterstock
Black children are four times more likely to be strip-searched by police officers across England and Wales than their white counterparts, according to the latest nationwide figures disclosed by a watchdog.
The children’s commissioner also found that children under the age of 15 are a bigger proportion of those subjected to intimate searches, official figures from the year to June 2023 showed. Fewer than half of all searches of children in that year (45%) were conducted in the presence of an appropriate adult.
A report released on Monday also found that nearly nine out of every 10 of searches [88%] conducted by England and Wales’s 44 forces were trying to find drugs.
It said that over the five years to June 2023, children as young as eight have been strip-searched every 14 hours by police in England. More than 3,000 intimate procedures were conducted on children between January 2018 and June 2023.
In response to the report, the police made a stark admission and said that “too many strip searches carried out are unnecessary, unsafe and under-reported”.
The practice of child strip searches prompted a national outcry after the Child Q scandal, when it emerged in 2022 that a 15-year-old black girl was strip-searched at school for drugs in east London. No cannabis, the grounds for the search, was found.
Assistant chief constable Andrew Mariner, the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for stop and search, said: “Two years on from the shocking case of Child Q, we are seeing progress being made. I welcome this shift, and I am cautiously optimistic about the potential to overcome entrenched systemic challenges, but there is still urgent work to be done: too many strip searches carried out are unnecessary, unsafe and under-reported.
“Today’s research serves as a stark reminder that this is not an isolated issue in the capital. A much higher threshold should be met before a child is subjected to what we know can be a traumatising search.
“We need a culture of trust to be built between children and the police, so it’s vital that improvements continue, with fewer searches carried out, better data recording when they do, and that good practice and improvements are identified and modelled across the country.”
Police promised a new review of the rules when officers use their powers to stop a person: “We will also conduct a full review of our authorised professional practice in respect of stop and search. This detailed and wide-ranging review will seek to examine all aspects of stop and search, including strip searches, and make any necessary changes to policing policy and national practices.”
The Home Office says strip searches play an important role in protecting the public and that strict safeguards are in place.
Related: Disciplinary hearing date for Child Q strip-search officers still to be set
Rachel de Souza, the children’s commissioner, said urgent procedural change was needed to tackle widespread racial disparity, and to ensure that children are not left at risk during these intimate searches.
“Throughout England and Wales, police continue to strip-search children as part of stop and searches, revealing concerning practices and widespread failure to comply with safeguarding procedures designed to protect children.
“Senior police officers have shared with me that there will be certain, limited times when an immediate risk of harm means that a search of this nature is both appropriate and necessary.
“My firm recommendation is that this should only be the case where there is a clear and immediate danger to the child or others. However, the majority of searches are still conducted on suspicion of drugs and nearly half result in no further action.
“Two years on from the shocking case of Child Q in 2022, we are seeing some green shoots of progress in how the police carry out and record strip-searches on children.
“Today’s research serves as a stark reminder that this is not an isolated issue in the capital. A much higher threshold should be met before a child is subjected to a humiliating and traumatising intimate search.”
Monday’s report is the third from de Souza in her work to investigate the use of strip-searching powers by police forces on children.
Related: Thousands of children strip-searched by police in England and Wales last year
It confirms that the numbers of strip-searches are lower overall, especially in London, while the majority of police forces are reporting changes to procedures and a fall in the proportion of black children subjected to strip searches between 2022 and 2023.
However, the report still found widespread failure to comply with safeguarding processes designed to protect children during intimate searches.
These include concerns that:
Of the children strip-searched between 2022 and 2023, 27% were black, while black children form 6% of the child population of England and Wales. For white children, the corresponding percentages were 59% and 74%. The report notes that this is an improvement on figures between 2018 and 2023, when black people were six times more likely to be searched.
Between July 2022 and June 2023, a parent, carer or social worker could not be confirmed to be present in 45% of searches.
During the same period, the majority of searches – 88% – were conducted on suspicion of drugs, with just 6% on suspicion of carrying weapons or blades. Strip searches should, de Souza said, be carried out on children only where there is a clear and immediate risk of harm to themselves or to others.
The proportion of searches conducted involving a child aged 15 or younger has increased from 23% to 28% between July 2022 and June 2023, compared with the previous four years.
Child Q was ordered to undress after being wrongly suspected of carrying drugs. The search was conducted after teachers called police, while the girl was on her period, without her parents being contacted and with no other adults present.
The search sparked days of protests in 2022 outside the girl’s east London school and was said to have left her traumatised and humiliated.
The Metropolitan police apologised and the Independent Office for Police Conduct has since called for a substantial review of policing powers under the laws relating to the strip searches of children, to improve safeguarding and prioritise the welfare of minors.
De Souza’s latest report said there were signs of improvement, including lower numbers of strip searches overall and, especially in London, the majority of police forces reporting changes to procedures, and a fall in the proportion of black children subjected to strip searches between 2022 and 2023.
In her 2023 report, de Souza heard from a male victim of child criminal exploitation and county lines who was arrested multiple times between the ages of 13 and 18 and strip-searched up to four times in custody. He was first strip-searched in custody aged 13, without an appropriate adult present, having been arrested in school.
A Metropolitan police spokesperson said: “We have a duty to do everything we can to prevent children in London from being used in the supply of drugs or involved in knife crime as either victims or offenders.
“We know these searches are intrusive and should only be used where there is a risk of serious harm to the child or others, and where used we must ensure that children are protected and safeguarded.
“We introduced a new policy to improve these types of searches in May 2022, including the requirement of inspector authorisation, mandatory safeguarding referrals and new guidance for officers.”
Sun, 18 August 2024
A solidarity rally in March 2022 outside Hackney town hall, east London, supporting Child Q, a 15-year-old black girl who was strip-searched without her parents or any other adults present.Photograph: Sabrina Merolla/Zuma Press Wire/Rex/Shutterstock
Black children are four times more likely to be strip-searched by police officers across England and Wales than their white counterparts, according to the latest nationwide figures disclosed by a watchdog.
The children’s commissioner also found that children under the age of 15 are a bigger proportion of those subjected to intimate searches, official figures from the year to June 2023 showed. Fewer than half of all searches of children in that year (45%) were conducted in the presence of an appropriate adult.
A report released on Monday also found that nearly nine out of every 10 of searches [88%] conducted by England and Wales’s 44 forces were trying to find drugs.
It said that over the five years to June 2023, children as young as eight have been strip-searched every 14 hours by police in England. More than 3,000 intimate procedures were conducted on children between January 2018 and June 2023.
In response to the report, the police made a stark admission and said that “too many strip searches carried out are unnecessary, unsafe and under-reported”.
The practice of child strip searches prompted a national outcry after the Child Q scandal, when it emerged in 2022 that a 15-year-old black girl was strip-searched at school for drugs in east London. No cannabis, the grounds for the search, was found.
Assistant chief constable Andrew Mariner, the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for stop and search, said: “Two years on from the shocking case of Child Q, we are seeing progress being made. I welcome this shift, and I am cautiously optimistic about the potential to overcome entrenched systemic challenges, but there is still urgent work to be done: too many strip searches carried out are unnecessary, unsafe and under-reported.
“Today’s research serves as a stark reminder that this is not an isolated issue in the capital. A much higher threshold should be met before a child is subjected to what we know can be a traumatising search.
“We need a culture of trust to be built between children and the police, so it’s vital that improvements continue, with fewer searches carried out, better data recording when they do, and that good practice and improvements are identified and modelled across the country.”
Police promised a new review of the rules when officers use their powers to stop a person: “We will also conduct a full review of our authorised professional practice in respect of stop and search. This detailed and wide-ranging review will seek to examine all aspects of stop and search, including strip searches, and make any necessary changes to policing policy and national practices.”
The Home Office says strip searches play an important role in protecting the public and that strict safeguards are in place.
Related: Disciplinary hearing date for Child Q strip-search officers still to be set
Rachel de Souza, the children’s commissioner, said urgent procedural change was needed to tackle widespread racial disparity, and to ensure that children are not left at risk during these intimate searches.
“Throughout England and Wales, police continue to strip-search children as part of stop and searches, revealing concerning practices and widespread failure to comply with safeguarding procedures designed to protect children.
“Senior police officers have shared with me that there will be certain, limited times when an immediate risk of harm means that a search of this nature is both appropriate and necessary.
“My firm recommendation is that this should only be the case where there is a clear and immediate danger to the child or others. However, the majority of searches are still conducted on suspicion of drugs and nearly half result in no further action.
“Two years on from the shocking case of Child Q in 2022, we are seeing some green shoots of progress in how the police carry out and record strip-searches on children.
“Today’s research serves as a stark reminder that this is not an isolated issue in the capital. A much higher threshold should be met before a child is subjected to a humiliating and traumatising intimate search.”
Monday’s report is the third from de Souza in her work to investigate the use of strip-searching powers by police forces on children.
Related: Thousands of children strip-searched by police in England and Wales last year
It confirms that the numbers of strip-searches are lower overall, especially in London, while the majority of police forces are reporting changes to procedures and a fall in the proportion of black children subjected to strip searches between 2022 and 2023.
However, the report still found widespread failure to comply with safeguarding processes designed to protect children during intimate searches.
These include concerns that:
Of the children strip-searched between 2022 and 2023, 27% were black, while black children form 6% of the child population of England and Wales. For white children, the corresponding percentages were 59% and 74%. The report notes that this is an improvement on figures between 2018 and 2023, when black people were six times more likely to be searched.
Between July 2022 and June 2023, a parent, carer or social worker could not be confirmed to be present in 45% of searches.
During the same period, the majority of searches – 88% – were conducted on suspicion of drugs, with just 6% on suspicion of carrying weapons or blades. Strip searches should, de Souza said, be carried out on children only where there is a clear and immediate risk of harm to themselves or to others.
The proportion of searches conducted involving a child aged 15 or younger has increased from 23% to 28% between July 2022 and June 2023, compared with the previous four years.
Child Q was ordered to undress after being wrongly suspected of carrying drugs. The search was conducted after teachers called police, while the girl was on her period, without her parents being contacted and with no other adults present.
The search sparked days of protests in 2022 outside the girl’s east London school and was said to have left her traumatised and humiliated.
The Metropolitan police apologised and the Independent Office for Police Conduct has since called for a substantial review of policing powers under the laws relating to the strip searches of children, to improve safeguarding and prioritise the welfare of minors.
De Souza’s latest report said there were signs of improvement, including lower numbers of strip searches overall and, especially in London, the majority of police forces reporting changes to procedures, and a fall in the proportion of black children subjected to strip searches between 2022 and 2023.
In her 2023 report, de Souza heard from a male victim of child criminal exploitation and county lines who was arrested multiple times between the ages of 13 and 18 and strip-searched up to four times in custody. He was first strip-searched in custody aged 13, without an appropriate adult present, having been arrested in school.
A Metropolitan police spokesperson said: “We have a duty to do everything we can to prevent children in London from being used in the supply of drugs or involved in knife crime as either victims or offenders.
“We know these searches are intrusive and should only be used where there is a risk of serious harm to the child or others, and where used we must ensure that children are protected and safeguarded.
“We introduced a new policy to improve these types of searches in May 2022, including the requirement of inspector authorisation, mandatory safeguarding referrals and new guidance for officers.”
One in 20 child strip-searches 'didn't follow rules'
Adina Campbell
One child strip searched every 14 hours - with appropriate adult not recorded in almost half of recent cases
Adina Campbell
BBC
UK correspondent•@adinacampbell
PA Media
Children's Commissioner for England, Dame Rachel de Souza
One in 20 child strip-searches by police were not compliant with legal codes of practice in England and Wales over five years, a report by the Children’s Commissioner has found.
More than 3,000 strip searches were carried out on children between 2018 and mid-2023, according to data gathered by Dame Rachel de Souza.
On average, one child was strip-searched every 14 hours under police stop and search powers.
A Home Office spokesperson said: "No child should ever be strip-searched without an appropriate adult, unless there is a risk of serious harm to themselves or others, nor should they ever be conducted, on the basis of their race and ethnicity."
'Culture of trust'
Dame Rachel said too many of these searches were "unnecessary, unsafe and under-reported".
She added that a much higher threshold should be met before a child is "subjected to a humiliating and traumatising intimate search".
"We need a culture of trust to be built between children and the police, so it's vital that improvements continue at pace."
Police in England and Wales can carry out strip-searches if guidelines are followed under stop-and-search powers or in custody.
Officers have to ensure they act in a sensitive, proportionate way and an appropriate adult must be present.
The key findings:3,368 strip-searches of children were conducted by 44 police forces* in England and Wales between January 2018 and June 2023
1 in 20 strip-searches were not compliant with statutory codes of practice
47% of searches resulted in 'no further action’
*Includes the British Transport Police
This latest report, commissioned following the case of Child Q, does show some improvements, with a lower number of strip-searches overall and better safeguarding referrals.
There was also a fall in the number of strip-searches on black children between 2022 and 2023, but they were still four times more likely to be strip-searched than the overall child population.
'Left naked in the cell'
I met a mother who says her 14-year-old son was strip-searched while in custody in the south of England without an appropriate adult present.
He was arrested on suspicion of possessing cannabis but claims it was a small amount for personal use.
"He was strip-searched and then left naked in the cell," the boy's mother said.
He was diagnosed with autism in primary school and now, in his twenties, is living with psychosis, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
His mother says his mental health has been severely damaged by multiple stop and searches during his childhood and has accused police of targeting him because of his black ethnic heritage.
"The police brutality that he's experienced, it's not something that professionals want to talk about and address with him."
"One of the issues that we have is that where he's been brought up in predominantly white environments, he minimises a lot of the racism that happens to him."
Elaine Isadora Thomas is the Founder and CEO of The Mentoring Lab, a youth organisation in Hackney, east London which supports young people, parents and community groups from marginalised backgrounds.
"This report is damning. It damages what we expect from police and the police service," she said.
"If we're strip-searching young people, and it's disproportionately against young people who are from African and Caribbean backgrounds, then we're not looking at the root causes.
"If we take a no strip-search approach, then we have to look at other options."
The Home Office said the government has committed to introducing new safeguards for strip-searching children and young people in its manifesto and would carefully consider the Children's Commissioner’s recommendations to ensure police can keep people safe in a fair and proportionate way, with full regard for a child's dignity.
The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), which brings together leaders from forces across the country, says it's working with the Home Office, the College of Policing, and others to make changes to the codes of practice governing strip searches.
Assistant Chief Constable Andrew Mariner, the NPCC's lead for stop and search, said he agreed with the report's findings and that the group would be "refining existing training for officers that explicitly teach the trauma that these types of searches can have on individuals and communities".
PA MediaChildren's Commissioner for England, Dame Rachel de Souza
One in 20 child strip-searches by police were not compliant with legal codes of practice in England and Wales over five years, a report by the Children’s Commissioner has found.
More than 3,000 strip searches were carried out on children between 2018 and mid-2023, according to data gathered by Dame Rachel de Souza.
On average, one child was strip-searched every 14 hours under police stop and search powers.
A Home Office spokesperson said: "No child should ever be strip-searched without an appropriate adult, unless there is a risk of serious harm to themselves or others, nor should they ever be conducted, on the basis of their race and ethnicity."
'Culture of trust'
Dame Rachel said too many of these searches were "unnecessary, unsafe and under-reported".
She added that a much higher threshold should be met before a child is "subjected to a humiliating and traumatising intimate search".
"We need a culture of trust to be built between children and the police, so it's vital that improvements continue at pace."
Police in England and Wales can carry out strip-searches if guidelines are followed under stop-and-search powers or in custody.
Officers have to ensure they act in a sensitive, proportionate way and an appropriate adult must be present.
The key findings:3,368 strip-searches of children were conducted by 44 police forces* in England and Wales between January 2018 and June 2023
1 in 20 strip-searches were not compliant with statutory codes of practice
47% of searches resulted in 'no further action’
*Includes the British Transport Police
This latest report, commissioned following the case of Child Q, does show some improvements, with a lower number of strip-searches overall and better safeguarding referrals.
There was also a fall in the number of strip-searches on black children between 2022 and 2023, but they were still four times more likely to be strip-searched than the overall child population.
'Left naked in the cell'
I met a mother who says her 14-year-old son was strip-searched while in custody in the south of England without an appropriate adult present.
He was arrested on suspicion of possessing cannabis but claims it was a small amount for personal use.
"He was strip-searched and then left naked in the cell," the boy's mother said.
He was diagnosed with autism in primary school and now, in his twenties, is living with psychosis, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
His mother says his mental health has been severely damaged by multiple stop and searches during his childhood and has accused police of targeting him because of his black ethnic heritage.
"The police brutality that he's experienced, it's not something that professionals want to talk about and address with him."
"One of the issues that we have is that where he's been brought up in predominantly white environments, he minimises a lot of the racism that happens to him."
"This report is damning. It damages what we expect from police and the police service," she said.
"If we're strip-searching young people, and it's disproportionately against young people who are from African and Caribbean backgrounds, then we're not looking at the root causes.
"If we take a no strip-search approach, then we have to look at other options."
The Home Office said the government has committed to introducing new safeguards for strip-searching children and young people in its manifesto and would carefully consider the Children's Commissioner’s recommendations to ensure police can keep people safe in a fair and proportionate way, with full regard for a child's dignity.
The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), which brings together leaders from forces across the country, says it's working with the Home Office, the College of Policing, and others to make changes to the codes of practice governing strip searches.
Assistant Chief Constable Andrew Mariner, the NPCC's lead for stop and search, said he agreed with the report's findings and that the group would be "refining existing training for officers that explicitly teach the trauma that these types of searches can have on individuals and communities".
One child strip searched every 14 hours - with appropriate adult not recorded in almost half of recent cases
Sky News
Sun, 18 August 2024
One child is strip searched every 14 hours, according to data in a report by the Children's Commissioner, with police failing to record an appropriate adult in almost half of recent searches.
The report shows there were 3,368 strip searches of children between January 2018 and June 2023 in England and Wales - with 457 over the last 12 months of that period.
Between July 2022 and June 2023, an appropriate adult - usually a parent or guardian - could not be confirmed present in 39% of searches, while none was present in 6% of cases.
Black children are four times more likely to be searched, a slight change from the period covering 2018-22 when they were six times more likely.
But Dame Rachel de Souza's report shows the number of strip searches - those exposing intimate parts - under stop and search of children in 2022 was 42% lower than in 2020.
"I am particularly reassured by the progress in London by the Metropolitan Police, but today's research serves as a stark reminder that this is not an isolated issue in the capital," Dame Rachel said.
"A much higher threshold should be met before a child is subjected to a humiliating and traumatising intimate search."
She added there remains "urgent work to be done", with "too many" strip searches being "unnecessary, unsafe and underreported".
Percentage of strip searches conducted per year
The high-profile case of Child Q, a 15-year-old schoolgirl strip searched in 2020 having been wrongly accused of possessing cannabis, prompted outrage when it emerged in 2022.
Scotland Yard apologised after the girl, who is black, was strip searched while on her period with no appropriate adult present at a school in east London.
Three Metropolitan Police officers are facing allegations of gross misconduct over the search, with a hearing date yet to be confirmed.
Responding to the report, Chief Constable Craig Guildford, the National Police Chiefs' Council lead for ethics and integrity, said: "If an officer considers it necessary to search a child, this must be carried out in line with legislation, policy, and procedure and that safeguards are in place.
"Work with partners continues in order to inform best practice and to implement positive change wherever it is required."
Child strip searches down but widespread safeguarding failures remain – report
Aine Fox, PA Social Affairs Correspondent
Sun, 18 August 2024
The number of child strip searches by police forces across England and Wales appears to be falling but safeguarding failures remain a problem, according to a report from the Children’s Commissioner.
There were 3,368 strip searches of children carried out by 44 police forces – including British Transport Police – between January 2018 and June 2023, according to data provided by forces to the commissioner.
Dame Rachel de Souza said her report is a first of its kind, giving a complete analysis of strip searches for this five-and-a-half-year period, using her statutory powers to request the data.
Children’s Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza said her latest report shows ‘some green shoots of progress’ on strip searches (Aaron Chown/PA)
The high-profile case of Child Q, a 15-year-old schoolgirl strip searched in 2020 having been wrongly accused of possessing cannabis, prompted outrage when it emerged in 2022, and has been described by the commissioner as “shocking” and something which should not happen again.
The girl, who is black, was strip searched while on her period with no appropriate adult present at a school in Hackney, east London. Scotland Yard later apologised.
Three Metropolitan Police officers are facing allegations of gross misconduct over the search, with a hearing date yet to be confirmed.
Dame Rachel’s latest report shows the number of strip searches – those exposing intimate parts – under stop and search of children in England and Wales in 2022 was 42% lower than in 2020.
There was a “sharp reduction” in the proportion of all searches in London from 2021, with a “striking change” between 2018 and June 2023, the report said.
With the report coming not long after violent street disorder in parts of the UK, Dame Rachel spoke of the need for a “culture of trust to be built between children and the police”, given the “vital importance of responsive, trusted policing in our communities” seen this summer.
The latest research shows data for July 2022 to June 2023 for the first time.
Black children across the two nations were four times more likely to be searched compared with national population figures, although this was an improvement on the 2018-22 period when they were six times more likely to be searched.
The commissioner said while the disparity has reduced, the disproportionate number of searches experienced by black children “remains a critical concern”.
Between July 2022 and June 2023, 88% of searches were conducted on suspicion of drugs, and 6% on suspicion of carrying weapons.
Some 457 searches were carried out on children between July 2022 and June 2023 across the two nations, half of which led to no further action.
The commissioner said this statistic calls into question “the necessity of such an intrusive search in the first place”.
In what Dame Rachel said was an indication that more children are receiving support after a strip search, her report showed the majority of police forces have made procedural changes to how they are carried out and that nearly half of searches between July 2022 and June 2023 saw a safeguarding referral – a “significant increase” from previous years.
She said the data shows “some green shoots of progress in how the police carry out and record strip searches on children” and added that she is “cautiously optimistic about the potential to overcome entrenched systemic challenges”.
She said: “I am particularly reassured by the progress in London by the Metropolitan Police, but today’s research serves as a stark reminder that this is not an isolated issue in the capital.
“A much higher threshold should be met before a child is subjected to a humiliating and traumatising intimate search.”
She said there remains “urgent work to be done: too many strip searches carried out are unnecessary, unsafe and underreported”.
New guidelines for police were proposed in April, including raising the minimum rank of authorisation for a child strip search to police inspector and requiring a parent or guardian to be informed.
The report also appeared to show a rise in searches in Wales, although one Welsh force said it had mistakenly provided incorrect data which had contributed to a higher overall figure.
While England accounted for the majority (88%) of searches in this period, Wales accounted for 11%, which the report said was a six percentage point increase compared with 2018-June 2022 figures.
Wales’s child strip search rate of 1.72 searches per 10,000 10 to 17-year-olds was around six times higher than the lowest rate, in Yorkshire and the Humber (0.3 per 10,000) for the period from July 2022 to June 2023, the report said.
For that period, initial data showed Dyfed-Powys was the police force area with the highest search rate (0.07), followed by Merseyside and Northamptonshire (both 0.04), Durham (0.03) and Suffolk (0.02).
The authors cautioned that the finding of higher searches in Wales may in part be a result of better data quality and said their analysis assumes that each strip search is of a different child when it may be that some children are strip searched more than once.
But Dyfed-Powys Police has since said the data it provided earlier this year was incorrect, and that only one strip search was carried out on a child during the time the report covers, which would affect the data for the rest of Wales.
The force said: “We regret this mistake being made, and the concern it will have caused our communities to see such a high figure linked to our force.
“A review of the process is being carried out to ensure this does not happen again.”
Chief Constable Craig Guildford, the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for ethics and integrity, said: “We always welcome the Children’s Commissioner’s reports and the accountability that comes with it.
“Police have an important role in ensuring the safety of young and vulnerable people and that each interaction with them is fair and handled with sensitivity.
“If an officer considers it necessary to search a child, this must be carried out in line with legislation, policy, and procedure and that safeguards are in place.
“Work with partners continues in order to inform best practice and to implement positive change wherever it is required.
“We will carefully consider the findings from the Children’s Commissioner as part of this work.”
Police believe strip-searching children can be effective, but suspicions of misuse remain
Vikram Dodd
Police and crime correspondent
Sun, 18 August 2024
Sun, 18 August 2024
THE GUARDIAN
A protest outside Stoke Newington police station in London in 2022 after a black 15-year-old schoolgirl, referred to as Child Q, was strip-searched by police while menstruating.Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA
When is it reasonable, necessary and proportionate for agents of the state, such as police officers, to take actions that are likely to leave a child traumatised?
There is little dispute that compelling anyone, let alone a child, to expose their intimate body parts against their will to a stranger causes real emotional pain. But police believe strip-searching can be a useful tool.
The police believe the use of “plugging”, the secretion of illegal drugs, increased with the growth of the “county lines” phenomenon, which saw children used as mules to move drugs from big cities to smaller towns.
Young people have been lured or threatened by drugs gangs who believe police will be reluctant to target people aged under 18.
Monday’s report from the children’s commissioner found that in almost nine out of 10 strip searches, officers gave suspicion of drug possession as the reason.
A spokesperson for the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) said: “Where there are reasonable grounds to suspect that a child is carrying unlawful items secreted on their person (eg drugs or weapons) and the items will not be voluntarily surrendered, then to ensure the child is not exposed to serious harm by allowing continued possession, a strip search may be appropriate.
“The police are under a positive duty to protect life and prevent an individual coming to serious harm or being subject of degrading treatment through the unlawful acts of another, eg child criminal exploitation.
“To leave children in possession of illegal items that could threaten their life or safety may be in negligent breach of the child’s human rights.”
The report says that when young people are strip-searched, nothing is found in about half the cases. In comparison, evidence of a crime is found in about 25% of stops and searches on all ages, the police inspectorate reported last week.
Police use of strip-search powers carry an assessment, formal and informal, of the benefits versus the risks. After the Child Q scandal erupted in 2022, it was clear that police had been getting that balance wrong.
The report also highlights a racial disparity: black children are four times more likely to be strip-searched than their white counterparts. It fits a pattern of black people being disproportionately targeted by police powers.
As the NPCC said when launching a plan to reform their record on race in 2022: “Black people are seven times more likely to be stopped and searched than white people and five times more likely to be subjected to the use of force … 10% of our recorded searches, 27% of use-of-force incidents and 35% of Taser incidents involved someone from a black ethnic group.
“The latest estimates suggest that only 3.5% of the population is black.”
Some, including the NPCC chair, Gavin Stephens, believe this is explained by institutional racism. Officially, police forces and most of his fellow chiefs do not accept this.
The report from the children’s commissioner is the second in two months to raise serious concerns about the police power to strip-search people. The first, looking specifically at Greater Manchester police and strip searches of mainly adult women, made scathing criticisms. One victim described police as being on a “power trip”, and the report by Dame Vera Baird KC contained findings on strip searches being used as punishment for sins real and imagined by officers.
The suspicion remains, given these two reports, that power granted to fight crime is at least in some cases being misused, and having foreseeable scarring effects on the victims.
A protest outside Stoke Newington police station in London in 2022 after a black 15-year-old schoolgirl, referred to as Child Q, was strip-searched by police while menstruating.Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA
When is it reasonable, necessary and proportionate for agents of the state, such as police officers, to take actions that are likely to leave a child traumatised?
There is little dispute that compelling anyone, let alone a child, to expose their intimate body parts against their will to a stranger causes real emotional pain. But police believe strip-searching can be a useful tool.
The police believe the use of “plugging”, the secretion of illegal drugs, increased with the growth of the “county lines” phenomenon, which saw children used as mules to move drugs from big cities to smaller towns.
Young people have been lured or threatened by drugs gangs who believe police will be reluctant to target people aged under 18.
Monday’s report from the children’s commissioner found that in almost nine out of 10 strip searches, officers gave suspicion of drug possession as the reason.
A spokesperson for the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) said: “Where there are reasonable grounds to suspect that a child is carrying unlawful items secreted on their person (eg drugs or weapons) and the items will not be voluntarily surrendered, then to ensure the child is not exposed to serious harm by allowing continued possession, a strip search may be appropriate.
“The police are under a positive duty to protect life and prevent an individual coming to serious harm or being subject of degrading treatment through the unlawful acts of another, eg child criminal exploitation.
“To leave children in possession of illegal items that could threaten their life or safety may be in negligent breach of the child’s human rights.”
The report says that when young people are strip-searched, nothing is found in about half the cases. In comparison, evidence of a crime is found in about 25% of stops and searches on all ages, the police inspectorate reported last week.
Police use of strip-search powers carry an assessment, formal and informal, of the benefits versus the risks. After the Child Q scandal erupted in 2022, it was clear that police had been getting that balance wrong.
The report also highlights a racial disparity: black children are four times more likely to be strip-searched than their white counterparts. It fits a pattern of black people being disproportionately targeted by police powers.
As the NPCC said when launching a plan to reform their record on race in 2022: “Black people are seven times more likely to be stopped and searched than white people and five times more likely to be subjected to the use of force … 10% of our recorded searches, 27% of use-of-force incidents and 35% of Taser incidents involved someone from a black ethnic group.
“The latest estimates suggest that only 3.5% of the population is black.”
Some, including the NPCC chair, Gavin Stephens, believe this is explained by institutional racism. Officially, police forces and most of his fellow chiefs do not accept this.
The report from the children’s commissioner is the second in two months to raise serious concerns about the police power to strip-search people. The first, looking specifically at Greater Manchester police and strip searches of mainly adult women, made scathing criticisms. One victim described police as being on a “power trip”, and the report by Dame Vera Baird KC contained findings on strip searches being used as punishment for sins real and imagined by officers.
The suspicion remains, given these two reports, that power granted to fight crime is at least in some cases being misused, and having foreseeable scarring effects on the victims.
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