The police strip-search of a black girl at her school in east London was not an isolated incident, according to England’s children’s commissioner.
After the “Child Q” incident was made public in March, Dame Rachel de Souza requested data from the Met Police.
From 2018 to 2020, nearly a quarter of the 650 strip-searches of children occurred without an appropriate adult present, according to data. More than fifty percent of those searched were black males.
The Met stated that modifications have since been made.
It said that it has provided police with guidance on how to interact with schools and children and that it had revised its policy on strip-searching youngsters.
Dame Rachel de Souza, who was appointed children’s commissioner last year, said she obtained the numbers from the Metropolitan Police after the details surrounding the strip-search of Child Q, a 15-year-old black girl, at her school in Hackney in 2020 were made public earlier this year.
During the event, the girl was removed from an exam and strip-searched in the school’s medical room by two female Met police officers who were searching for cannabis, while teachers stayed outside.
There was no other adult there, her parents were not contacted, and there were no drugs found.
According to the evaluation, the girl’s sensitive body parts were exposed and she was forced to remove her sanitary towel.
In March of this year, a safeguarding investigation concluded that the search was inappropriate and that racism “certainly” played a role in the incident, provoking protests about the student’s treatment.
The newest Met Police statistics, as analyzed by the children’s commissioner for England, indicate that between 2018 and 2020, police in London conducted strip searches on 650 minors.
More than ninety-five percent of these youngsters were boys, and 58 percent of those boys were black.
In 2018 seventy-five percent of the boys searched were black.
When police do a strip search on a kid, they are required by law to have another adult present, known as an “appropriate adult,” unless there is an immediate risk of significant damage.
Typically, this is the child’s parent or legal guardian, although it can also be a social worker, caregiver, or volunteer.
Despite this, 23 percent of strip searches conducted within the indicated two-year period were conducted without an appropriate adult present.
Dame Rachel expressed “great worry” regarding the findings.
Dame Rachel stated, “I am not reassured that what happened to Child Q was an isolated incident; rather, I feel it may be indicative of a wider systemic problem with child safety within the Metropolitan Police.”
I am dubious that the Metropolitan Police consistently prioritizes the safety and welfare of children.
The Met Police informed that it “recognizes the enormous impact that such searches can have.”
“We have examined our policy regarding ‘further searches’ for juveniles,” the police stated. “This is to ensure that the policy is suitable and that it acknowledges the fact that a youngster in these circumstances may be a victim of exploitation by those involved in gangs, County Lines, and drug selling.”
Before conducting a strip search on a kid, cops must now obtain approval from a local command unit inspector.
