The Children’s Commissioner for England has denounced the Metropolitan Police’s child protection record after new data revealed 650 children were strip-searched over a two-year period and most were innocent of the allegations against them.
Dame Rachel de Souza said she was not convinced the force was “constantly considering the welfare and well-being of children” after police figures showed almost a quarter of cases (23%) had no adults involved appropriate during research, although this was a requirement under legal guidelines.
She was also concerned about ethnic disproportionality after data showed that of children aged 10 to 17 who were searched between 2018 and 2020, almost three in five (58%) were black, as describe the officer. For 2018 alone, the number increased to 75%. In Greater London, 19% of young people aged 10 to 17 are black.
De Souza questioned the extent to which this “intrusive and traumatic” practice was necessary after figures showed that in 53% of cases no further action was taken. “This low level of successful searches indicates that this intrusive practice may not be warranted or necessary in all cases.”
His damning report, published on Monday, also raised concerns about the “lack of adequate oversight” of police practice around searches after data revealed that in one in five cases there was no way of knowing where he went to produce
Of the 269 searches in 2021 for which the location of the search was recorded, 57% occurred at a police station and 21% at a home. De Souza’s report says 22% happened elsewhere but, “due to the poor quality of recording practice, it is not possible to determine where these searches took place”.
The data shows that the number of searches increased between 2018 and 2020, with 18% of all searches conducted in 2018, 36% in 2019 and 46% in 2020. Almost all children strip-searched (95% ) were boys, and a quarter were 15 years old or younger.
The commissioner launched his investigation following widespread outrage over the case of Child Q, a 15-year-old girl who was searched by female Met officers in 2020 after she was wrongly suspected of bringing cannabis to her school in east london
The search sparked days of protests in Hackney after it was discovered the school was searched without another adult present and knowing she was menstruating. His parents were not contacted.
De Souza said she was “deeply shocked and concerned” after requesting the data from the Met police using their powers under the Children and Families Act. “I am also very concerned about the ethnic disproportionality shown in these figures, particularly given that ethnicity was found to be such a key factor in the Child Q case.
“I am not reassured that what happened to Child Q was an isolated issue, but instead I think it may be a particularly worrying example of a more systemic problem around child protection in the Metropolitan Police. I am not convinced that the Metropolitan Police are constantly considering the welfare and well-being of children.” Now he plans to look to all police forces for the same data.
The report’s revelations led to claims that the Met had been involved in “state-sanctioned” child abuse and the dehumanization of children, and another example of institutional racism affecting the UK’s largest force.
Inquest’s Deborah Coles said: “This report is about state-sanctioned child abuse operating outside the law. It also reveals racist and discriminatory policing and the dehumanisation of black children.”
Anna Edmundson, head of policy and public affairs at the NSPCC, said: “It is vital that police leaders and the Government commit to removing racism, discrimination and prejudice from policing to prevent further harm to children.”
The report’s findings that the majority of these searched children were innocent of police suspicion prompted a shocked and angry response within the police themselves and among those who oversee the Met.
Andy George, president of the National Black Police Association, said: “We continue to see these patterns of bias that always fall against black communities. Most officers do not perform their duties believing they are doing harm, but because of systemic issues such as culture, education, and lack of representation consistently treat black communities disproportionately.
“The Met police continue to exacerbate the low confidence of the black community in the UK, and the new commissioner must acknowledge the systemic nature of the racism that manifests itself in the Met to ensure that meaningful measures are developed to tackle the lack of trust and confidence.”
A spokesman for Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, as well as the capital’s police and crime commissioner responsible for the Met, said: “It is deeply concerning that there are so many cases of children being searched by the Met without a proper document . present adult, and there are still serious broader problems with the disproportionality and use of stop-and-frisk of black boys.”
A statement from the Met Police said: “The Metropolitan Police is working hard to ensure that children subject to intrusive searches are treated appropriately and respectfully. We recognize the significant impact these searches can have.
“We have already made changes and continue to work hard to balance the policing required for this type of search with the considerable impact it can have on young people.
“We have ensured that our officers and staff have a renewed understanding of the policy for conducting an ‘additional search’, particularly regarding the requirement for an appropriate adult to be present. We have also provided advice to officers on how dealing with schools, ensuring that children are treated as children and considering the protection of under 18s.
“More broadly, we have reviewed the policy for ‘further searches’ for under 18s. This is to ensure that the policy is appropriate and also recognizes that a child in these circumstances may be a vulnerable victim of “exploitation. by others involved in gangs, county lines and drug trafficking.”