Children are frisked every 14 hours by police in England and Wales

Data from the Children’s Ombudsman shows that between January 2018 and June 2023, a child was frisked multiple times a day by police in England and Wales. The youngest child was just eight years old at the time.

More than 3,000 searches were carried out on children over a period of five and a half years, which equates to an average of one search every 14 hours. Of these, 457 searches were carried out between July 2022 and June 2023.

The report published today is based on a new and unique dataset – the first of its kind – and provides a full analysis of searches carried out by police across all 44 police forces in England and Wales, including British Transport Police, between 2018 and June 2023, including previously unpublished data for 2022 and 2023.

This is the third report by England’s Children’s Ombudsman, Dame Rachel de Souza, in her ground-breaking work investigating the use of stop-and-search on children by police forces. It fills in the gaps in previous research over the past two years, since the case of Child Q in Hackney first came to light in March 2022.

It confirms that there are some promising signs of improvement: fewer strip searches overall, particularly in London. Most police forces report changes in procedures and a fall in the number of black children strip searched between 2022 and 2023, compared with previous years and national population figures.

It also shows that positive steps are being taken towards children receiving support after undergoing a physical search. Almost half (45%) of searches between July 2022 and June 2023 resulted in a police referral for safeguarding measures. This is an increase of 28% on the previous four years.

Despite these promising signs and examples of good and improving practice within police services, there is still widespread failure to adhere to safeguarding processes designed to protect children during these types of intimate searches, including:

• Presence of a suitable adult: Between July 2022 and June 2023, almost half (45%) of searches failed to confirm that an appropriate adult (a parent, caregiver or social worker) was present, despite previous calls from the Children’s Ombudsman for this legal safeguard to be observed in all searches;
• Reason for searching: In the same period (July 2022 to June 2023), the majority of searches – 88% – were carried out on suspicion of drugs, with only 6% on suspicion of carrying weapons or knives. The Commissioner believes that searches should only be carried out on children if there is a clear and immediate risk of harm to themselves or others;
• Location of the search: Between July 2022 and June 2023, 8% of searches were carried out at a ‘different’ location (other than a police station, the child’s home address or a medical facility), without providing additional information. In a further quarter of searches, the location was not recorded.
• Age of the child sought: The percentage of searches involving a child aged 15 or under increased from 23% to 28% between July 2023 and June 2023, compared to the previous four years;
• Search result: Over the same period, just under half of all searches resulted in ‘no further action’ (47%) – questioning the necessity – and around a quarter resulted in an arrest (26%). Worryingly, 6% of search results were not recorded;
• Racial inequality: Persistent racial disparities despite overall improvements, with Black children being frisked four times more often between 2022 and 2023, compared to national population rates, up from six times more often between 2018 and 2022; and
• Compliance: At least 4% of searches carried out between 2018 and June 2023 did not comply with the legal codes of conduct. The Commissioner is concerned about the way in which a further 11% of searches were carried out.

Today’s report also presents new evidence that between July 2022 and June 2023, police forces are on average twice as likely to routinely record additional vulnerability markers, such as whether a child is in care, has a medical condition or is being sexually exploited, for searches in custody compared to stop and search searches. This is despite the fact that naked stop and search searches are typically conducted in high-pressure situations under less controlled circumstances than those in custody – and so should be subject to extra scrutiny, not less.

Dame Rachel de Souza, Children’s Commissioner for England, said:

“Two years on from the shocking case of Child Q that came to light in 2022, we are seeing some green shoots of progress in the way police conduct and record strip searches of children. I welcome this shift and am cautiously optimistic about its potential to overcome deep-rooted systemic challenges, but there is still urgent work to be done: too many strip searches are unnecessary, unsafe and under-reported.

“I am particularly reassured by the progress made in London by the Metropolitan Police, but today’s research serves as a stark reminder that this is not an isolated issue in the capital. There should be a much higher threshold before a child is subjected to a humiliating and traumatising search that exposes their private parts.

“This summer we have seen how important responsive, trusted policing is in our communities. We need a culture of trust between children and the police, so it is vital that improvements continue apace, with fewer searches conducted, better data recording when they do occur, and that the good and improving practices seen in some forces are modelled across the board.”

The Children’s Ombudsman’s work in this area has had a significant impact on policing policy, conduct and procedures and the protection of children and young people in England and Wales.

Her two previous reports in this area focused first on stop-and-search strip searches conducted by the Metropolitan Police Service, published in 2022, followed by a national report on England and Wales, published in 2023. Both reports highlighted systemic problems with code compliance in the way strip searches of children were conducted, and evidence of ethnic disproportionality.

In her report, the Children’s Commissioner made a series of recommendations to strengthen national codes of practice on stop and search, improve the quality, availability and transparency of data, and improve practice and compliance across all police forces. The Commissioner also called for wider changes in police interactions with children and safeguard-first approaches.