The Children’s Commissioner has criticised the Metropolitan Police’s response to the “shocking” number of children who have been strip-searched, saying “sorry isn’t good enough”.
Dame Rachel de Souza obtained data from Scotland Yard showing that 650 children were strip-searched between 2018 and 2020. Of those, almost a quarter took place without an “appropriate adult” — such as a parent or social worker — confirmed to have been present. This is required by law, except in cases of “urgency”.
