School policing overhauled in Hackney over Child Q

Child Q, a 15-year-old black girl, was strip-searched by police in her school in 2020

The role of police officers in schools in Hackney is to be overhauled in the wake of the Child Q strip-search scandal.

A 2022 safeguarding report found the search of the 15-year-old black girl by a police officer, in December 2020, was unjustified and racism was "likely" to have been a factor.

Safer Schools Officers (SSOs) will now advise on policy, but avoid involvement in non-criminal or minor issues affecting young people in the east London borough's schools.

Safer Schools Partnerships (SSPs) were piloted in 2002 in response to concerns about poor discipline and anti-social behaviour in schools across 34 local authority areas in England.

'Difficulty and confusion'

Hackney schools will adopt the Metropolitan Police's new safety plans, shifting SSOs' roles to "tactical advisers" focused on safeguarding, crime prevention and ensuring children's safety going to and from school.

At a meeting, Det Ch Supt James Conway admitted to councillors that SSPs had become outdated.

“Over time, remits have become confused on the policing side, and I wasn’t satisfied that we had clarity on this," he said.

“Although there are many reasons and factors which led to the Child Q incident, nevertheless we can see origins of the challenges around Child Q in that difficulty and confusion around the role of police in schools."

During the incident, the girl was taken out of an exam to the school's medical room and strip-searched by two female Met police officers who were looking for cannabis, while teachers remained outside.

A report presented at the meeting highlighted there had been no “More Thorough Intimate Parts" (MTIP) searches in the borough since the Child Q scandal.

The Child Q incident attracted protests when her ordeal came to light

Jim Gamble, the independent child safeguarding commissioner, welcomed the new approach, stressing the need for the SSO role to continue.

“The value of this role in diverting children from the criminal justice system, I think, has huge potential and our commitment to it is unchanged,” he said.

Mr Gamble authored the original safeguarding report into the incident.

The 2022 report concluded the girl should never have been strip-searched, and that many people had “failed to apply a safeguarding-first approach to their practice”.

In September 2023, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) called for a review of police strip-search powers after the Child Q investigation.

The IOPC also announced the three officers involved in the Child Q incident would face disciplinary hearings for gross misconduct, including for allegations of discrimination.

The hearing date is still to be scheduled.