Child Q: Two Met Police officers sacked over strip search of 15-year-old schoolgirl
Two Metropolitan Police officers have been sacked after a misconduct hearing found they committed gross misconduct during the strip search of a 15-year-old schoolgirl wrongly suspected of possessing cannabis.
PCs Kristina Linge, Victoria Wray, and Rafal Szmydynski conducted the search of the black girl, known as Child Q, with no appropriate adult present at a school in Hackney, east London, in 2020.
Scotland Yard apologised, and the Children's Commissioner for England, Dame Rachel de Souza, described the case as "shocking" after details of the incident emerged in 2022.
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PCs Linge, Wray and Szmydynski suspected the girl was in possession of cannabis, but the police watchdog later determined no drugs were found in her bags or outer clothing.
At a police misconduct hearing in London today, Linge and Szmydytnski were found to have committed gross misconduct. They have both been dismissed.
Wray was cleared of gross misconduct, but found to have committed misconduct, and was given a final written warning.
The panel found she became involved in a "situation where the decision had been decided already".
The case of Child Q drew outrage when it first came to light in March 2022 and sparked protests.
The officers had been accused of treating Child Q differently due to her race, but Commander Jason Prins, chair of the misconduct panel, said: "We do not draw any inference that race was an effective cause of this incident."
The panel found concerns about drugs and potential gang involvement were initially raised by school staff.
"Like many cases where stop and search is used, here the subject of the search was identified to police officers by other professionals rather than being by officers in the street," Commander Prins added.
He said the problem was with the decision to conduct the strip search in the first place, finding it was "unnecessary" and "disproportionate".
"There should never have been a strip search in these circumstances," he said, accepting Child Q found it "humiliating and degrading".
The panel did not find any officer breached professional behaviour standards relating to equality and diversity, or honesty and integrity.
During the misconduct case, the three officers gave evidence, and each said they were not influenced by subconscious bias.
Luke Ponte, for Linge, said they happened to be "three immigrant officers" who were "trying to do their best to their adopted country" as they were seeking to solve a problem.
Mr Ponte said: "These officers must not bear the entire weight of Child Q where there has been wider dysfunction as to how this came about."
A fourth officer will face a disciplinary meeting at a later date relating to no appropriate adult being present during the search. This is separate from this misconduct hearing, and it's a lower level of discipline.
Commander Kevin Southworth, on behalf of the force, said in a statement after the verdict: "The experience of Child Q should never have happened and was truly regrettable.
"We have sincerely apologised to Child Q since this incident happened. Again, I am deeply sorry to Child Q and her family for the trauma that we caused her, and the damage this incident caused to the trust and confidence Black communities across London have in our officers.
"While the officers involved did not act correctly, we acknowledge there were organisational failings. Training to our officers around strip search and the type of search carried out on Child Q was inadequate, and our oversight of the power was also severely lacking.
"This left officers, often young in service or junior in rank, making difficult decisions in complex situations with little information, support or clear resources to help their decision-making.
"What happened to Child Q was a catalyst for change, both for the Met and for policing nationally.
"While we should not have needed an incident such as Child Q to check our approach, it has absolutely led us to improving our processes and significantly reducing the number of these types of searches carried out.
"It's crucial we get this right to ensure the impact on young people is minimised as far as possible.
"Sadly, we know there are children in London being exploited to carry drugs and weapons for others as well as involved in criminality, so these types of searches have to remain within police powers. The work we have done since Child Q means we now have the right safeguards in place."
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Authorisation was not sought and the situation 'cried out for advice and input', he added. Child Q did not give evidence at the four-week hearing 'because of the psychological effects that this strip search has had on her', the panel heard. Outrage over Child Q's treatment led to protests outside Stoke Newington police station in north London, after a safeguarding review found she had arrived at school for a mock exam and was taken to the medical room to be strip-searched while teachers remained outside. After the misconduct panel finding, Amanda Rowe, director of the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), which brought the case, said of the officers: 'Their decision to strip-search a 15-year-old at school on suspicion of a small amount of cannabis was completely disproportionate. 'They failed to follow the policies that exist to ensure that children in these situations have appropriate protective measures in place.' Teachers had already searched Child Q's blazer, shoes and school bag, and no drugs were found. The school's safeguarding deputy had called police, amid fears Child Q could have been carrying drugs for someone, being exploited or groomed in the community, which meant it was a safeguarding issue for her and other school pupils. Pc Szmydynski took a 'leading role' in the actions that day, including calling for a second female officer to attend, in line with a more intimate search taking place. Pc Linge told Child Q she would be arrested if she did not consent to being searched. Pc Szmydynski was 39 and had more than 13 years policing experience at the time of the search, after becoming a police community support officer in 2007 and a constable in November 2014. Pc Linge was 41 and had joined the force in August 2018. Child Q told Pcs Linge and Wray, who searched her, that she was menstruating, but the search continued, during which her sanitary pad was exposed. When no drugs were found after the strip search, Child Q's hair was also scoured. With no adult present, the teenager was alone and had no help during her conversations with police, or when the decision was made to perform a strip search. No consideration was given as to whether the search could have been moved to Child Q's home, a police station or if it needed to happen at all, according to Commander Prins. It was suggested the police felt the safeguarding deputy, who had accepted in her evidence to feeling 'Child Q was stoned', was acting as the appropriate adult. But Commander Prins added: 'Child Q's mother was a strong choice to be an appropriate adult and, equally, a member of staff who had not been involved in the incident.' The hearing was also told that Metropolitan Police officers get no further updates on stop and search after initial training, and the training on conducting searches in schools was described as 'insufficient'. After the hearing, Metropolitan Police Commander Kevin Southworth told the PA news agency: 'I think we should start by offering our sincerest and deepest apologies again to Child Q for what happened that day and also to her family, her friends, the community, and everyone affected by this terrible incident. 'We understand the distress it must've caused within the community and on Child Q herself and hopefully we can reassure people that we've transformed our approach to stop and search since this time in order to make sure that something like this never happens again.' He had also said: 'While the officers involved did not act correctly, we acknowledge there were organisational failings. 'Training to our officers around strip-search and the type of search carried out on Child Q was inadequate, and our oversight of the power was also severely lacking. 'This left officers, often young in service or junior in rank, making difficult decisions in complex situations with little information, support, or clear resources to help their decision-making.'
