Black children are six times more likely to be subjected to strip searches by the police in England and Wales than white children, according to official figures.
Analysis by the Children's Commissioner shows nearly a quarter of children strip searched between 2018 and mid-2022 involved a 10-15 years old, with the youngest recorded as just eight years old.
Black boys accounted for more than a third of strip searches while white children were around half as likely to be dealt with in this way compared to the average.
The report by children’s commissioner for England Dame Rachel de Souza says there are widespread failures to comply with statutory codes of practice for strip searches of children, with more than half taking place without an appropriate adult confirmed to be present.
She said: ‘I have severe concerns at the ethnic disproportionality shown in these figures, and at the lack of appropriate protection for children during what is often a traumatic and humiliating experience.’
She added: ‘Across England and Wales police are strip-searching children as part of stop and searches and there is evidence of deeply concerning practice.
‘My findings include evidence of widespread non-compliance with the statutory safeguards in place to protect children, including the lack of appropriate adults in more than half of searches, and strip-searches being conducted in schools, police vehicles and within public view.
‘I have serious concerns about the poor quality of record-keeping, which makes transparency and scrutiny very difficult and means that the numbers in this report may only be a minimum.’
