Child Q's school strip-search was gross misconduct

Child Q, a 15-year-old black girl, was strip-searched by police at her east London school in 2020 - demonstrators highlighted the incident while campaigning against institutional racism outside the BBC and elsewhere in 2022

Two Metropolitan Police officers who conducted the "humiliating" strip-search of a 15-year-old schoolgirl committed gross misconduct, a panel has found.

The case was proven against trainee Det Con Kristina Linge and PC Rafal Szmydynski, while PC Victoria Wray's actions were deemed to be misconduct, after the girl - known as Child Q - was searched at her school in Hackney, east London, in December 2020.

The black schoolgirl, who was wrongly suspected of possessing cannabis, was on her period and forced to expose her intimate parts while no appropriate adult was present.

The panel heard that black schoolchildren were more likely to be treated as older and less vulnerable than their white peers.

However, neither age nor race was found to be a factor in the way Child Q was treated.

The officers are waiting to hear what penalty they will face in light of the findings, following the disciplinary hearing in south-east London.

At the end of May, new rules were due to come into effect that would mean any police officer proven to have committed gross misconduct would be sacked.

'Completely disproportionate'

Cdr Kevin Southworth said in a statement: "The experience of Child Q should never have happened and was truly regrettable.

"We have sincerely apologised to Child Q since this incident happened. Again, I am deeply sorry to Child Q and her family for the trauma that we caused her, and the damage this incident caused to the trust and confidence black communities across London have in our officers."

The Met Police acknowledged organisational failings in the search of the girl

During the hearing, the search was described as unjustified, inappropriate, disproportionate, humiliating and degrading.

Panel chair Cdr Jason Prins said the search "was improper and conducted without an appropriate adult".

He added that Child Q's position as a "vulnerable or a potentially exploited child was not adequately considered".

"The potential effect of a 15-year-old going through puberty had not been considered," he said.

Child Q - whose mother was not told about about the search - felt "demeaned" and "physically violated" and did not give evidence at the four-week hearing because of the psychological effects the strip-search had on her, the panel heard.

'There's a level of fear'

The panel was told that the officers failed to get authorisation at sergeant level or higher before they took action, which went against police policy.

It was also alleged that no adequate concern was given to Child Q's age and sex, especially after she removed her sanitary towel.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct said the decision to strip-search Child Q on suspicion of possessing a small amount of cannabis was "completely disproportionate".

The panel heard that black people were disproportionately more likely to be stopped and searched by police.

However, the panel did not accept an "inference" that the girl's race caused "less favourable treatment".

Details of Child Q's case were released in a safeguarding report in 2022, which said the search was unjustified and that racism was likely to have been a factor.

There were widespread protests about the girl's ordeal and calls for urgent action from the government.

Teacher Tanya Obeng said for many black people there was a "level of fear" surrounding the police

Tanya Obeng, a teacher who took part in one of the demonstrations in Hackney about the strip-search, said many black people did not trust the police.

"There's a level of fear and I think for Caucasians, there's a level of safety. That is the disparity," she said.

Reacting to the panel's findings, Prof Louise Owusu-Kwarteng, who teaches applied sociology at the University of Greenwich, said black children were often unfairly labelled at school.

"It was almost like this escalation, automatically assuming that she had done something wrong without doing the due process," she said.

Sharon Adams, from Hackney, has a young daughter and still feels deeply upset by the way Child Q was treated.

"They already had that perception of her and no matter what she would have said it just went out the window. She didn't have a voice in that moment," Ms Adams said.

'Catalyst for change'

Cdr Southworth said in his statement that the force acknowledged there were organisational failings in the search of the girl.

"Training to our officers around strip-search and the type of search carried out on Child Q was inadequate, and our oversight of the power was also severely lacking," he said.

"This left officers, often young in service or junior in rank, making difficult decisions in complex situations with little information, support or clear resources to help their decision-making."

He said the search of Child Q had been a "catalyst for change" for the force and policing nationally.

"While we should not have needed an incident such as Child Q to check our approach, it has absolutely led us to improving our processes and significantly reducing the number of these types of searches carried out."

Children's commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza described the case as "shocking and profoundly disturbing".

"Child Q's case has to be a line in the sand," she said.

"The strip-searching of children should never form part of routine policing. It must only be used as a last resort if there is an immediate risk of harm to the child or others, with proper safeguards in place – children should never be put through such traumatic experiences without rigorous standards."