Black children 8 times more likely to be strip-searched as racial disparities worsen
The vast majority of strip searches were carried out on the suspicion of drugs possession, yet nearly half of all searches resulted in no further action.
Black children 8 times more likely to be strip-searched as racial disparities worsen
The report comes more than five years since the case of Child Q, a Black 15-year-old student who was strip-searched by Metropolitan Police officers
STORY BY MELISSA SIGODO
APRIL 22, 2026
Black children are almost eight times more likely to be strip-searched than their white counterparts in worsening racial disparities in England and Wales, a new report suggests.
In a new report on strip-searching and the use of force, Children’s Commissioner for England, Rachel de Souza says that compared to her 2024 findings which suggested racial disproportionally of strip searches was improving, the latest data suggests a “reversal of this trend” for Black children.
Summarising the report, the Commissioner detailed a “humiliating” and “distressing” account of one 19-year-old’s experience and how they felt that officers had treated their strip-search as a “joke.” The race of the teenager was not disclosed.
As well as the damning findings on strip-search, Black children were overrepresented when police used force, with their “size or build” given as “justification.”
The report comes more than five years since the case of Child Q, a Black 15-year-old student who was strip-searched by Metropolitan Police officers while on her period at school without an appropriate adult present.
The incident sparked protests from the Black community and after a misconduct hearing, the officers were dismissed.
Now, following the Commissioner’s latest report, she warns that “insufficient justification” was “eroding children’s trust in the police.”
Rachel de Souza said: “I will never forget what a young adult told me about his experience of being strip-searched by police, [he said], ‘They told me to get naked. They told me to bend over.
‘I think there were about three officers present.The police never really looked mortified at doing it. It almost felt a bit of a joke to them. From that really was just a terrible start of a relationship with the police.’”
The Commissioner says she worked to investigate strip-searches after the Child Q case was exposed, but although there were signs of change in the reduction of overall numbers, it ‘masked unsafe and underreported’ strip-searches.
She said: “We must not lose sight of the fact that, as a practice, strip searching is an intrusive and traumatic experience and should only ever be used as a last resort when there is an immediate risk of serious harm.
“Too many children are being let down by systemic failures and treated as adults while they are still children – with Black children most consistently and disproportionately subjected to these searches, and having force used against them based on their ‘size, gender or build’.”
The vast majority of strip searches were carried out on the suspicion of drugs possession, yet nearly half of all searches resulted in no further action.
The Commissioner added that the process of strip-search was “humiliating and traumatising” and that a higher threshold needed to be met before using it.
She said: “The insufficient justification for many of these searches will only erode children’s trust in the police, which is essential for ensuring their safety.
“A much higher threshold should be met before a child is subjected to a humiliating and traumatising strip search.”
In 2024 almost 3,400 strip searches were conducted on children, with the youngest child being just eight.
Where data was recorded, no searches happened in schools, but more than a quarter of search locations were not recorded, some searches were still conducted in public view, and for some searches there was no appropriate adult present.
The Commissioner has called on the Home Office to urgently update police codes governing interactions with children to ensure that children are only ever strip searched if there is an immediate risk of significant harm and that an appropriate adult is present in all but the most exceptional circumstances.
Furthermore, she urged the Home Office to work with police to improve data transparency and recording standards across all forces and to pilot the use of new and alternative technology to reduce the need for invasive strip searches of children, including the use of X-ray body scanners and similar technologies.
In response to the report, National Police Chiefs’ Council Lead for Stop and Search, Deputy Chief Constable Andy Mariner, said: “Since the Children’s Commissioner’s first report, policing has made changes to policy about strip searching and has been working closely with the College of Policing to update Authorised Professional Practice (APP) on stop and search, which is currently out for public consultation.
“While there are positive signs in that the number of strip searches have been falling over time, we continue to work with policing partners, stakeholders and academics to understand and address the disproportionate use of stop and search, which we understand can undermine trust between policing and communities.
“Minimum standards have been set nationally whereby officers should take into account multiple factors in their decision making, and record them, to ensure the fairness and effectiveness of their actions.
“We are committed to increasing transparency around our use of stop and search, including strip search, which is a legitimate and useful policing tool to help us in removing dangerous weapons and drugs from the streets, but we know that when it is used inappropriately, it can damage our relationships with affected communities.”
Very upsetting to read. I’m left thinking about the aftermath for these young people and their mental health where the feeling of shame and humiliation becomes deeply internalised potentially affecting their own self-image.