Black children in Britain are SIX times more likely to be strip-searched by ... trends now Black children in Britain are SIX times more likely to be strip-searched by police, 'disturbing' investigation finds Black children are six times more likely on average to be strip-searched by police Nearly 3,000 children as young as eight were strip-searched from 2018 to 2022 More than half of these were carried out without an appropriate adult present By George Odling Crime Correspondent For The Daily Mail Published: 01:17 BST, 27 March 2023 | Updated: 09:02 BST, 27 March 2023 16 shares Viewcomments Black children are six times more likely to be strip-searched by police when compared with national population figures, an investigation has found. Almost 3,000 children as young as eight were strip-searched between 2018 and mid-2022, according to research from the children’s commissioner. Of the 2,487 searches, 38 per cent involved black children and more than half were carried out without an appropriate adult confirmed to be present. And in 45 per cent of cases officers failed to record the location of the strip search, with some taking place in police vehicles and schools. Dame Rachel de Souza, the Children’s Commissioner for England, who began examining the issue following the search of the black schoolgirl named Child Q, said the findings made for ‘disturbing, but sadly not surprising, reading’. Dame Rachel de Souza, the Children’s Commissioner for England, began examining the issue following the search of a 15-year-old black schoolgirl named Child Q Child Q was 15 when she was strip-searched in 2020 at her east London school while menstruating by officers who believed she was concealing cannabis. Nothing was found and no further action was taken. Dame Rachel said the new data, combined with further statistics from the Metropolitan Police last year, was the clearest indication that Child Q’s experience was a far from an isolated incident. ‘I have severe concerns at the ethnic disproportionality shown in these figures. There is sustained attention on this issue not because of a police whistleblower or a government report, but thanks to the bravery of a 15-year-old girl in speaking up. ‘Without her, these failures would have gone uncovered and unnoticed. ‘We urgently need to strengthen guidelines around strip searches... and to robustly challenge a culture that has allowed widespread failures to go unchallenged.’ The report comes a week after the Casey review found multiple failings in the Met, including shocking examples of mistakes made while strip searching children. Chief Constable Craig Guildford, of the National Police Chiefs’ Council, said it took all the concerns raised seriously. Share or comment on this article: All rights reserved for this news site (dailymail) and under his responsibility