Black children in England and Wales almost eight times more likely to be strip-searched than white peers – report

In cases where force was used against a Black child during a search, police officers were more likely to cite their size or build as justification, the report said. Photograph: Janine Wiedel Photolibrary/Alamy

Black children across England and Wales are almost eight times more likely to be strip-searched by police than their white counterparts, a report has disclosed.

Rachel de Souza, the children’s commissioner for England, said Black children are also overrepresented when officers use force and were more likely to have their “size, gender or build” cited as justification.