‘I don't know if I'm going to feel normal again' Child Q says over strip search
The woman, known as Child Q, was 15 years old and on her period when she was searched at school by officers in Hackney, east London on in December 3 2020
On Thursday, a disciplinary panel found Pc Kristina Linge and Pc Rafal Szmydynski had committed gross misconduct during the 'disproportionate' and 'humiliating' incident, and the officers were dismissed from the force without notice.
The 'traumatic' search involved the removal of Child Q's clothing, including her underwear, her bending over and having to expose intimate parts of her body, the police disciplinary panel heard.
In a family statement released by Bhatt Murphy Solicitors after the hearing, Child Q said: 'Someone walked into the school, where I was supposed to feel safe, took me away from the people who were supposed to protect me and stripped me naked, while on my period.
'I can't go a single day without wanting to scream, shout, cry or just give up.
'I don't know if I'm going to feel normal again. But I do know this can't happen to anyone, ever again.'
Child Q's mother said the Metropolitan Police has a 'huge amount' of work to do if they are to win back the confidence of black Londoners.
In the statement, she said: 'Professionals wrongly treated my daughter as an adult and as a criminal, and she is a changed person as a result.
'Was it because of her skin? Her hair? Why her?
'After waiting more than four years I have come every day to the gross misconduct hearing for answers, and although I am relieved that two of the officers have been fired, I believe that the Metropolitan Police still has a huge amount of work to do if they are to win back the confidence of black Londoners.'
The tribunal heard authorisation was not sought for the intimate search, which left Child Q feeling 'demeaned' and 'physically violated'.
An appropriate adult was not present, a key safeguard of a child's rights, and the girl's mother was not told of the situation.
A third officer – Pc Victoria Wray – was given a final written warning after her involvement on the day was found to amount to misconduct.
She was a 24-year-old probationary officer at the time and arrived at the scene after the key decisions had been made.
Panel chairman Commander Jason Prins said: 'There has been enormous harm to Child Q and significant harm to the community in trusting the police.'
Earlier he had described the incident as 'a disastrous and negative interaction' between police and a black teenager, but said race had not been the reason why Child Q was treated so badly.
The search was 'disproportionate, inappropriate and unnecessary', and it was 'humiliating' for the child and made her feel 'degraded'.
Commander Prins said 'this is a case where officers adopted a simplistic approach' to a sensitive matter and they did not follow the training they were given.
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.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
29 minutes ago
- The Independent
Teenager forced to expose herself in Met Police strip search says she may ‘never feel normal again'
A woman who was strip-searched by police when she was just 15 and forced to expose her intimate parts while on her period has said she does not know if she will ever 'feel normal again'. The black schoolgirl was inappropriately searched at a school in Hackney, east London, in 2020 after she was wrongly suspected of carrying cannabis. A four-week tribunal found on Thursday that the two Metropolitan Police officers involved in the search, trainee detective constable Kristina Linge and Pc Rafal Szmydynski, were guilty of gross misconduct. They have both been dismissed without notice, while a third officer was found to have committed misconduct and given a final written warning. The victim, identified only as Child Q due to her age at the time of the incident, said she 'cannot go a single day without wanting to scream' since the incident. In a statement released via Bhatt Murphy Solicitors, she said: 'Someone walked into the school, where I was supposed to feel safe, took me away from the people who were supposed to protect me and stripped me naked, while on my period. 'I can't go a single day without wanting to scream, shout, cry or just give up. I don't know if I'm going to feel normal again. But I do know this can't happen to anyone, ever again.' The victim did not speak during the tribunal. The woman's mother, who says she attended every day of the month-long tribunal, says though she is 'relieved' that the two officers have been found guilty, she believes the Met Police 'still has a huge amount of work to do … to win back the confidence of Black Londonders'. The tribunal was told how black children were more likely to be treated as adults and less vulnerable than their white peers. But neither race nor age were found to be a factor in how Child Q was treated. Commander Kevin Southworth, head of Public Protection in the Met Police's Frontline Policing team, described the strip-search of Child Q as 'truly regrettable'. "The experience of Child Q should never have happened and was truly regrettable,' he said. "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." The force said the schoolgirl was searched on 3 December 2020, when police were called after staff raised concerns that she smelled strongly of cannabis and may have been in possession of drugs. Two female officers conducted a more thorough search of the girl, which exposed intimate parts, in the medical room at the school, according to police, but no appropriate adult was present. No drugs were found. The Children's Commissioner's latest report revealed that a child was strip searched every 14 hours between January 2018 and June 2023, with official data suggesting an appropriate adult was not present in 45 per cent of searches. Lynn Perry, chief executive of children's charity Barnardo's, said: 'It's deeply worrying that strip searching children is so common, so frequently done without proper safeguarding, and that Black children are four times more likely to be strip searched than children from other backgrounds. 'It's essential that policing is done with respect and safety, and that children and young people can trust the criminal justice system.'
The Guardian
4 hours ago
- The Guardian
Black children arrested in London ‘15% more likely to be criminalised' than white children
Black children detained by police are 15% more likely to be 'criminalised', that is charged and put into the criminal justice system, than white children detained for similar types of offences, a study has found. The report by the Youth Endowment Fund (YEF), which tackles youth violence, found that black children were 14.8% less likely to be offered diversion, which can include mentoring or counselling, that usually results in them avoiding getting a criminal record at an early age. The authors of the study say they have taken into account the seriousness and prior offending record, and are thus comparing like with like. The racial gap pointed to 'systemic inequities', the report said. The study examined almost 265,000 records of children aged 10 to 17 who were arrested by the Metropolitan police in London, or where a decision was made to take further action after a stop and search. It is believed to be the largest study of its type and the data covers from 2015 to 2022. The study also said children arrested in outer London, which tended to be whiter, were more likely to avoid being criminalised than those in inner London: 'Outer London boroughs, particularly Bromley (diversion rate 66%), Bexley (65%) and Kingston upon Thames (65%), have the highest diversion rates. Inner London boroughs, such as Haringey (43%), Lambeth (42%) and Hackney (41%), show the lowest.' Previous studies have found racial disparities at different levels of the criminal justice system. Some say that is the result of institutional racism, which the Met has been found guilty of by the Macpherson report into the Stephen Lawrence murder investigation in 1999, and by Louise Casey's report into the force in 2023. There is some anecdotal evidence that as black young people mistrust police more, they are less likely to admit their guilt, which is a prerequisite for being accepted for some diversion schemes. The report said: 'Two compounding disparities emerge for Black CYP [children and young people]: i) they faced disproportionately higher rates of police contact than CYP from other ethnic groups, and ii) once involved with the police, they received comparatively fewer diverted outcomes than their peers. 'Even after controlling for factors such as type of offence and prior arrests, Black CYP were less likely to be diverted than White CYP, with a gap of 8.88%pts. These findings are based on historical data (2015–22), which points to systemic inequities requiring attention.' The report said that for knife crime, white children were less likely to be charged than black children. Black children arrested by the Met police were offered diversion in 17.2% of cases, while for white children that figure was 35%. This statistic did not include an adjustment for the seriousness of the alleged offending or prior arrest record. Ciaran Thapar of the YEF said: 'This important research suggests that a black child in Lambeth who is arrested for the same crime as a white child in Kingston upon Thames can expect to have a very different experience of policing and chance of being diverted from court. 'This is a worrying inconsistency … It potentially means that arrested black children are becoming disproportionately and unnecessarily criminalised by the justice system early on in their lives.' The report said diversion appeared to reduce the rate of reoffending. It allows people at the start of their lives to avoid a criminal conviction that could blight their futures. Thapar said: 'The findings also suggest that diversion can be a highly effective way of preventing reoffending and violence. There are many organisations across London working to divert children in their communities, before they become criminalised. We should be pushing the Met towards a better, more equitable use of diversion and sustainably funding initiatives who can help them to facilitate it.' The Met did not respond to a request for comment on the study based on the force's own data.
South Wales Guardian
4 hours ago
- South Wales Guardian
‘I don't know if I'm going to feel normal again' Child Q says over strip search
The woman, known as Child Q, was 15 years old and on her period when she was searched at school by officers in Hackney, east London on in December 3 2020 On Thursday, a disciplinary panel found Pc Kristina Linge and Pc Rafal Szmydynski had committed gross misconduct during the 'disproportionate' and 'humiliating' incident, and the officers were dismissed from the force without notice. The 'traumatic' search involved the removal of Child Q's clothing, including her underwear, her bending over and having to expose intimate parts of her body, the police disciplinary panel heard. In a family statement released by Bhatt Murphy Solicitors after the hearing, Child Q said: 'Someone walked into the school, where I was supposed to feel safe, took me away from the people who were supposed to protect me and stripped me naked, while on my period. 'I can't go a single day without wanting to scream, shout, cry or just give up. 'I don't know if I'm going to feel normal again. But I do know this can't happen to anyone, ever again.' Child Q's mother said the Metropolitan Police has a 'huge amount' of work to do if they are to win back the confidence of black Londoners. In the statement, she said: 'Professionals wrongly treated my daughter as an adult and as a criminal, and she is a changed person as a result. 'Was it because of her skin? Her hair? Why her? 'After waiting more than four years I have come every day to the gross misconduct hearing for answers, and although I am relieved that two of the officers have been fired, I believe that the Metropolitan Police still has a huge amount of work to do if they are to win back the confidence of black Londoners.' The tribunal heard authorisation was not sought for the intimate search, which left Child Q feeling 'demeaned' and 'physically violated'. An appropriate adult was not present, a key safeguard of a child's rights, and the girl's mother was not told of the situation. A third officer – Pc Victoria Wray – was given a final written warning after her involvement on the day was found to amount to misconduct. She was a 24-year-old probationary officer at the time and arrived at the scene after the key decisions had been made. Panel chairman Commander Jason Prins said: 'There has been enormous harm to Child Q and significant harm to the community in trusting the police.' Earlier he had described the incident as 'a disastrous and negative interaction' between police and a black teenager, but said race had not been the reason why Child Q was treated so badly. The search was 'disproportionate, inappropriate and unnecessary', and it was 'humiliating' for the child and made her feel 'degraded'. Commander Prins said 'this is a case where officers adopted a simplistic approach' to a sensitive matter and they did not follow the training they were given. 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.'
