Strip Search - Mar 2023

We are very concerned that Hertfordshire Constabulary has been named as the second worst police force for Children’s strip searches according to the research carried out by the Children’s Commissioner with 202 searches between 2018 and mid–2022 of children aged between 8 and 17.

Dame Rachel de Souza said the findings demonstrate “evidence of deeply concerning practice” with “widespread non-compliance” with statutory safeguarding and added that children are “being failed by those whose job it is to protect them”.

The vast majority of youngsters strip-searched were boys (95%). About 38% of children strip-searched were black, and the report found that black youngsters were up to six times more likely to be strip-searched when compared with national population figures, while white children were around half as likely to be searched. 

The report described this as a “pronounced and deeply concerning ethnic disproportionality” and Dame Rachel branded it “utterly unacceptable not just the police, but our schools and the local education authority have failed in their duty to protect our children.

Please tell us if you or someone you know has been striped searched in Hertfordshire.

info@hertsequalitycouncil.org

The full report can be found here