Dame Rachel de Souza said she was not convinced the force was “consistently looking at the welfare and well-being of children” after police figures showed that in almost a quarter of cases (23%) no suitable adult was present during the investigation. despite the fact that this was a requirement under statutory guidance. She was also concerned about the ethnic disparity, after data showed that of 10- to 17-year-olds strip-checked between 2018 and 2020, nearly three in five (58%) were black, as described by the officer. Only for 2018 the percentage reached 75%. In Greater London, 19% of young people aged 10 to 17 are black. De Souza questioned how necessary this “intrusive and traumatic” practice was after figures showed that in 53% of cases no further action was taken. “This low level of successful searches strongly suggests that this intrusive practice may not be warranted or necessary in all cases.” Her damning report, published on Monday, also raised concerns about a “lack of appropriate oversight” of police practice around strip-searches, after figures revealed that in one in five cases there was no way of knowing where it took place. Of 269 searches in 2021 for which the search location was recorded, 57% were at a police station and 21% were at a residential address. De Souza’s report says 22% occurred elsewhere, but “due to the poor quality of the recording practice, it is not possible to determine where these searches took place”. The data showed that the number of searches increased between 2018 and 2020, with 18% of all searches taking place in 2018, 36% in 2019 and 46% in 2020. Almost all children tested for strips (95%) they were boys and a quarter were 15 and under. The commissioner launched her inquiry following widespread outrage over the case of Child Q, a 15-year-old schoolgirl who was strip-searched by female Met officers in 2020 after she was wrongly suspected of bringing cannabis to her school in east London. The strip search sparked days of protests in Hackney after it was revealed the schoolgirl was searched without another adult present and knowing she was menstruating. Her parents have not been contacted. De Souza said she was “deeply shocked and concerned” after she requested the data from the Met police using their powers under the Children and Families Act. “I am also extremely concerned about the ethnic disparity shown in these figures, particularly given that ethnicity was identified as 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 believe it may be a particularly worrying example of a more systemic problem with child protection within the Metropolitan Police. I remain confident that the Metropolitan police are consistently considering the welfare and well-being of children.” It now plans to seek the same evidence from all police forces. The revelations in the report led to claims that the Met had engaged in “state sanctioned” child abuse and dehumanization of children, and another example of institutional racism plaguing Britain’s biggest power. Deborah Coles of the Inquest said: “This report is about state-sanctioned child abuse operating outside the law. It also exposes the racist and biased policing and dehumanization of black children.” Anna Edmundson, head of policy and public affairs at the NSPCC, said: “It is vital that policing leaders and the Government commit to eliminating racism, discrimination and bias from policing to prevent further harm to children ». The report’s findings that the majority of these children tested were innocent of police suspicion prompted a shocked and angry response from the police themselves and among those who oversee the Met. Andy George, president of the National Association of Black Police Officers, said: “We continue to see these patterns of bias that are always against black communities. Most officers do not go into their duties believing they are doing wrong, but due to systemic issues such as culture, education, and lack of representation, they consistently disproportionately target black communities. “The Met police continue to exacerbate the low trust of the black community in the UK and the new commissioner must acknowledge the systemic nature of the racism taking place in the Met to ensure that meaningful measures are put in place to tackle the lack of trust.” A spokesman for Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London and 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 strip-checked by the Met without the appropriate present adults, and there are still serious broader issues regarding the disproportionality and use of stop and search among young black boys.” A statement from the Met Police said: “The Metropolitan Police is moving at pace to ensure that children subject to interventional investigations are treated appropriately and respectfully. We recognize the significant impact such 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 significant impact it can have on young people. “We have ensured that our officers and staff have an updated understanding of the policy for conducting a ‘further search’, particularly in relation to the requirement for an appropriate adult to be present. We also gave officers advice on how to deal with schools, ensuring children are treated as children and considering safeguarding for under-18s. “More broadly, we have revised the ‘further searches’ policy for under 18s. This is to ensure that the policy is appropriate and also that it recognizes the fact that a child in these circumstances may well be a vulnerable victim of exploitation by others involved in gangs, county and drug dealing.”
