Study by Children’s Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza found that more than a third of children strip-searched were black Police stopped and strip-searched more than 2,800 children in four years – with the youngest only 8-years-old, a damning new report has revealed. Using data for forces across England Wales, Children’s Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza found that nearly a quarter of children strip-searched were aged between 10 and 15. More than a third (38%) of those strip-searched were black, and with black children making up 5.9% of the population that makes them more than six times more likely to be targeted. Overall, 2,847 strip-searches took place between 2018 and mid-2022 of children aged between eight and 17. (…) A safeguarding report into the incident said that racism was “likely” to have been a factor in the search and that it should never have happened. After the scandal data revealed that Met Police officers strip-searched 650 children between the ages of 10-17 between 2018 and 2020, with 58% of those searched were black children. Speaking a day before the publication of the report, Dame Rachel told the Sunday Times the findings had “kept her awake at night” and has called on police chiefs to limit strip-searching of children for only “life or death” situations.
via independent: Police strip searching children as young as eight, damning report finds
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