New figures uncovered by the Children's Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza show the controversial use of strip-searches on under-18s for the past five years. She found 3,368 strip-searches of children were conducted by all 44 police forces in England and Wales between January 2018 and June 2023.
Her investigation comes after a Black schoolgirl known as Child Q, 15, was wrongly accused of having drugs and strip-searched while on her period, with no appropriate adult present, in Hackney, in December 2020. Three Metropolitan Police officers face misconduct proceedings over the shocking case, which also prompted the police watchdog to issue calls for a review of police strip-search powers.
In a comprehensive report published today, the commissioner found that an appropriate adult was not confirmed present in almost half of the searches between July 2022 and June 2023.
This story is from the August 19, 2024 edition of The Independent.
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This story is from the August 19, 2024 edition of The Independent.
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