The figures were requested by England’s Children’s Commissioner Rachel de Souza, following revelations earlier this year that a 15-year-old girl had been strip-searched at her school.
The incident took place in 2020 and the girl had to take off her clothes when two female police officers searched for cannabis. No other adult was present, her parents were not contacted and no drugs were found, reports say BBC.
A total of 650 minors aged 10–17 were searched by police between the years 2018 and 2020. More than 95 percent were boys and 58 percent of all those searched were described by police as black.
The Children’s Commissioner says she is “deeply shocked” by the figures. de Souza also states that she is “extremely concerned” about the ethnic imbalance, and that the figures show that a significant number of children are “subjected to this intrusive and traumatizing practice every year”.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan also criticizes the police. A spokesperson for him says, among other things, that it is “deeply disturbing” that so many body searches took place without an adult present.
London police say they have already introduced changes “to ensure that children subjected to intrusive visits are treated appropriately and respectfully”.