Strip-searches of children sparks probe

A public investigation that found London police stripsearched hundreds of children has triggered alarm about the “traumatic” practice and a wider probe of potential abuses around the country. The inquiry said the Metropolitan Police was searching children as young as 10 years old on an almost-daily basis and revealed 650 strip-searches between 2018 and 2020. It said 42 per cent of the children were young Black boys. The children's commissioner for England said she was “unconvinced” that the police were “consistently considering children's welfare” after her report found that another adult was not there during nearly a quarter of the searches. This was despite a law requiring the presence of a parent, guardian or social worker. “A police power that is as intrusive and traumatic for children as a strip search must be treated with the utmost care and responsibility,” said Commissioner Rachel de Souza, who published the report Monday. She pledged to investigate police forces around the country. “Sorry isn't good enough,” she said after announcing the findings, which London Mayor Sadiq Khan called “gravely concerning.” The commissioner's report acknowledged the city's police force had “committed to several changes,” while recommending more training and scrutiny, but some activists called for an end to strip-searching children.