LONDON, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- Almost one in 25 strip searches conducted on children in England and Wales over the past five and a half years have violated statutory guidelines, according to a report published by the United Kingdom's (UK) Children's Commissioner on Monday.
Between January 2018 and June 2023, the 44 police forces in England and Wales conducted 3,368 strip searches on children. Four percent of these searches were not compliant with statutory codes of practice, the Commissioner said, while 11 percent raised "a safeguarding concern."
However, the total number of children strip-searched remains unknown as the data was provided at the search level rather than the individual level.
Dame Rachel de Souza, who commissioned the report, expressed deep concerns. "Throughout England and Wales, police continue to strip search children as part of stop and searches, revealing concerning practices and widespread failure to comply with safeguarding procedures designed to protect children."
She called for stronger guidance, enhanced oversight and inspection, and a cultural shift in the police force that has allowed non-compliance to go unchallenged. It is "unacceptable" that police forces cannot properly account for the safeguarding outcomes of every child strip search, she said.
The report found that 47 percent of the searches conducted on children between July 2022 and June 2023 resulted in no further action, raising questions about the necessity of such intrusive measures.
Alarmingly, an appropriate adult could not be confirmed as present in 45 percent of searches, either due to no information being recorded or no adult being present.
The report also found that Black children are now four times more likely to be strip searched compared to the national average, although this is an improvement from the previously reported six times.
The report followed the Child Q scandal in 2020, when a 15-year-old Black girl was strip-searched while on her period at her school in East London without an appropriate adult present after being wrongly accused of smelling of cannabis.
Andrew Mariner, the National Police Chiefs' Council lead for stop and search, said, "I agree with the report's findings, and recognize that more needs to be done at a pace, by both those policing and others operating in this space."
Mariner added that "urgent work" needs to be done" as too many strip searches carried out are "unnecessary, unsafe and under-reported." ■
