Strip searches of children by police are down by more than half in four years, but the Children’s Commissioner has questioned the use of force in some cases and warned that ethnic disparities persist.
The issue gained national prominence following the case of Child Q, a Black teenager who was searched at her school in Hackney, east London, by officers while on her period in December 2020. The 15-year-old was wrongly suspected of carrying cannabis.
Last summer, two Metropolitan Police officers were dismissed for gross misconduct over the "disproportionate" and "humiliating" incident.
A report this week by the Children’s Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza’s office found that no searches were recorded at schools between July 2023 and June 2024. However, more than a quarter (26 per cent) of search locations were not recorded.
Using data from the first half of 2024, her office estimated a total of 377 strip searches took place in the whole of that year.
This was down 56 per cent on 854 searches in 2020.
While standard stop and searches can involve removal of coats and jackets, strip searching can involve exposure of intimate body parts and are governed by strict rules which officers must follow, including where they take place and who should be present.
Dame Rachel said while there had been “promising signs of progress in the reduction of overall numbers, as well as how searches are carried out and recorded, this progress is masking the fact that too many are still unnecessary, unsafe and underreported”.
She said “too many children” are still being “let down by systemic failures and treated as adults while they are still children”.
Her report, published on Wednesday, found some searches between July 2023 and June 2024 were still being carried out in public view (26) and with no appropriate adult present (22).
The data also showed that three in 10 (30 per cent) strip searches in that time period involved children who had already been searched at least once before, which the commissioner warned risked “significant and repeated damage to their mental wellbeing, their relationship with the police, and showing a clear failure to successfully intervene with children”.
Force, such as handcuffs or firearms and Tasers, was used in almost a fifth (17 per cent) of all stop and searches of children between April 2024 and March 2025, her report added.
But in 43 per cent of instances where force was used, no further action was taken, which the commissioner said called into “question the use of necessary and proportionate tests”.
While the vast majority of stop and searches of children in that period were on those aged 11 to 17 (22,437), there were 46 instances of use of force in a stop and search of children aged under 11.
The commissioner also warned of continued ethnic disparities, saying black children were almost five times as likely to have force used during a search than white children.
In cases where force was used against a white child to be searched, officers were more likely to note them as having a mental health need, but for black children the reason identified was more often their size or build, her report said.
Dame Rachel said: “We cannot accept that black children are subjected to use of force because of the way they are perceived.”
She described strip searching as “an intrusive and traumatic experience” and said it should “only ever be used as a last resort when there is an immediate risk of serious harm”.
She added: “A much higher threshold should be met before a child is subjected to a humiliating and traumatising strip search.
“Moving forward, it is vital that progress continues, with fewer searches carried out, better data recording when they do, and for the improving practice seen in some forces to be emulated across the country – only then will we build a culture of trust between children and the police.”
The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) said updates, which were out for public consultation, to official guidance on stop and search would ensure a “child-centred approach” was taken by officers.
Deputy Chief Constable Andy Mariner, who is NPCC lead for stop and search, said the changed guidance “strengthens safeguarding requirements, and places greater emphasis on the quality of the encounter – including communication, de-escalation, and dignity”, and “sets clear expectations on the use of force and the use of handcuffs and is simpler and more practical”.
He said: “While there are positive signs in that the number of strip searches has been falling over time, we continue to work with policing partners, stakeholders and academics to understand and address the disproportionate use of stop and search, which we understand can undermine trust between policing and communities.”
He said that while the use of stop and search, including strip search, was a “legitimate and useful policing tool to help us in removing dangerous weapons and drugs from the streets”, forces also acknowledged that “when it is used inappropriately, it can damage our relationships with affected communities”.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “We’re introducing extensive safeguards for children and young people for strip searching and bringing in reforms to drive up standards in policing, improve vetting and tackle misconduct.”
Boy believed to be first charged with endangering others during sea crossing
Waist and leg restraints used on asylum seekers deported from UK, report finds
Home Office expected to close down another 11 asylum hotels
Man halfway through 3,000 mile US walk says his team and ‘cold pint’ drive him
Iran war drives UK inflation up to 3.3% in major blow for Reeves
London Tube strikes: When are they and what lines will be affected?
