Schoolgirl falsely strip-searched by police

Schoolgirl falsely strip-searched by police

A black schoolgirl was strip-searched by police after being wrongly suspected of carrying cannabis.

The search by Metropolitan Police officers took place without another adult present

It was described as ‘Traumatic’ at the girl’s secondary school in Hackney in 2020.

Reports on the incident concluded it was unjustified and racism was “likely” to have been a factor.

According to the report, the impact on the pupil was “profound”.

Family members described her as changing from a “happy-go-lucky girl to a timid recluse that hardly speaks”,

They also state she now self-harms and needs therapy.

Police were called to a school in Hackney at the end of 2020.

Teachers reportedly told investigators they had been concerned the teenager had drugs in her possession.

She was taken to the medical room and strip-searched by two female officers, while teachers remained outside.

According to reports, she was exposed in the room by the officers. 

Her family strongly believes the strip search was a racist incident.

The review found her experiences are “unlikely to have been the same” had she not been black.

The Local Child Safeguarding Practice Review was conducted by City & Hackney Safeguarding Children Partnership (CHSCP).

In a written statement to the review, the girl said she wanted everyone who allowed the strip search to happen to “be held responsible”.

She said: “I need to know that the people who have done this to me can’t do it to anyone else ever again so no one else can do this to any other child in their care.”

Det Supt Dan Rutland, of the Met’s Central East Command, said: “We recognize that the findings of the safeguarding review reflect this incident should never have happened.

“It is truly regrettable and on behalf of the Met Police I would like to apologize to the child concerned, her family, and the wider community.”