Black children five times more likely to face force in 'humiliating' police strip searches, report finds

A report from the office of Dame Rachel de Souza called for a "much higher threshold" before a child is subjected to a "intrusive and traumatic" strip search.

The commissioner flagged her concerns despite the number of police strip searches of children falling by more than half in four years.

Read more: Pair lose High Court challenge against Met use of Live Facial Recognition

Read more: Career criminal who cost dedicated Morrisons employee of 30 years his job

Despite this, concerns remain about the use of force in some cases and persistent disparities in how white and black youths are treated.

Dame Rachel's office estimated a total of 377 strip searches took place last year - down from 854 searches in 2020.

During that year, a 15-year-old black teenager was strip-searched in east London while on her period after police wrongly suspected her of carrying cannabis.

The case, which only came to light in March 2022 though a safeguarding report, sparked protests.

The two Metropolitan Police officers involved in the search were dismissed without notice in 2025 after a disciplinary panel found they had committed gross misconduct during the "disproportionate" incident.

Despite the latest figures showing a "promising signs of progress", Dame Rachel said they only mask the fact "that too many are still unnecessary, unsafe and underreported".

The commissioner said strip searches should "only ever be used as a last resort when there is an immediate risk of serious harm" as they are "an intrusive and traumatic experience".

Her report found 26 searches between July 2023 and June 2024 had been carried out in public view, while a further 22 were done without an appropriate adult present.

Three in 10 involved children who had already been searched at least once before, which the commissioner said risked "significant and repeated damage to their mental wellbeing, their relationship with the police, and showed clear failure to successfully intervene with children".

The report also found that black children were five times more likely to be subjected to force, such as handcuffs or firearms and Tasers, during searches than white children.

Almost a fifth (17%) of all stop and searches of children between April 2024 and March 2025 used force, but in 43% of those cases, no further action was taken, raising the question why it was used at all.

Officers were more likely to note a white child as having a mental health need as the reason for using force in a search, but for black children they were more likely to note their size and build, the report said.

The National Police Chiefs' Council said it understood that the "disproportionate use of stop and search" could "undermine trust between policing and communities".

But it said updates to official guidance on stop and search – including on the use of force and handcuffs – were out for public consultation and would help ensure all officers take a "child-centred approach".

A Home Office spokesperson said: "We're introducing extensive safeguards for children and young people for strip searching and bringing in reforms to drive up standards in policing, improve vetting and tackle misconduct."