A new report from the Children’s Commissioner for England says a child is strip searched every 14 hours by police in England and Wales, but the majority of searches (88%) were conducted on suspicion of drugs, with just 6% on suspicion of carrying weapons or blades. According to the Childen’s Commissioner strip searches should “only be carried out on children where there is a clear and immediate risk of harm to themselves or to others”.
Despite “some green shoots of progress “, commented Children’s Commissioner for England, Dame Rachel de Souza, “…too many strip searches carried out are unnecessary, unsafe and under-reported”.
The report says more than 3,000 strip searches were conducted on children over a five-and-a-half-year period, with 457 strip searches carried out between July 2022 and June 2023. Despite lower numbers of strip searches overall (especially in London), a fall in the proportion of black children subjected to strip searches between 2022 and 2023, and examples of good and improving practice across police force areas, there remains widespread failure to comply with safeguarding processes designed to protect children during these intimate searches, says the report, including:
- Presence of an appropriate adult: Between July 2022 and June 2023, an appropriate adult (a parent, carer or social worker) could not be confirmed to be present in almost half (45%) of searches.
- Reason for the search: During the same period (July 2022 to June 2023), just 6% were carried out on suspicious of carrying weapons or blades.
- Location of the search: Between July 2022 and June 2023, 8% of searches were conducted at an ‘other’ location (than a police station, child’s home address or medical facility), with no additional information provided and the location was not recorded in a further quarter of the searches.
- Age of child searched: The proportion of searches conducted involving a child aged 15 years old or younger increased from 23% to 28% between July 2023 and June 2023, compared to the previous four years.
- Result of search: Over the same period, just under half of all searches resulted in ‘no further action’ (47%) – calling into question their necessity – and around a quarter resulted in an arrest (26%). Concerningly, 6% of search outcomes were not recorded.
- Racial disparity: Continued racial disparity despite improvements overall, with black children four times more likely to be strip searched between 2022 and 2023, compared to national population figures, rather than six times more likely between 2018 and 2022.
- Compliance: At least 4% of searches conducted between 2018 and June 2023 were not compliant with statutory Codes of Practice, and the Commissioner has concerns about how a further 11% of searches were carried out.
For the full statement and to download the full report, please see the Children’s Commissioner website.