(AGENPARL) – LONDON ven 24 giugno 2022

The Met has made a further seven voluntary referrals to the Independent Office for Police Conduct involving strip searches of children.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor said: ” We understand the trauma and lasting impact these types of searches can have on people, especially young people, and understand the public’s concerns following several cases.

“In response we have already made a number of changes to the way we work to ensure that officers consider the child first and take a safeguarding approach. We are also in the process of reviewing complaints received over the past three years in relation to strip searches involving children under the age of 18. This includes searches outside the custody environment where intimate parts are exposed.

“Strip searches in custody and searches that expose more intimate parts outside of custody are important in ensuring the safety of the person being searched as well as protecting communities from drugs and weapons. But they must, of course, be carried out appropriately and in line with our policy.

“We have already confirmed three cases have been referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) for that important independent oversight of how police carried out those searches – these cases are known as ‘Child Q’, ‘Child A’ and ‘Olivia’. We have now made a further seven voluntary referrals to the IOPC.”

The voluntary referrals relate to separate incidents, between December 2019 and March 2022, where children aged 14 to 17 were strip searched by officers in custody or subject to more intimate searches outside custody. The IOPC have returned two of the referrals to us to investigate. We await the IOPC’s assessment of the other five on how they wish to take these forward.

Since the publication of the safeguarding report into Child Q, we have ensured our officers and staff have a refreshed understanding of the policy for conducting a ‘further search’, particularly around the requirement for an appropriate adult to be present. We have also given officers advice around dealing with schools, ensuring that children are treated as children and considering safeguarding for those under 18. ‘Adultification’ is a subject we need to understand more and training is being delivered, in the first instance, to all frontline officers in Central East Command Unit, which covers Hackney and Tower Hamlets.

More widely, we have reviewed the policy for ‘further searches’ for those aged under 18 and made changes. This is to assure ourselves the policy is appropriate and takes account of the safeguarding review for Child Q, and also that it recognises the fact a child in these circumstances may well be a vulnerable victim of exploitation by others involved in gangs, County Lines and drug dealing.

To ensure we have very clear control over this type of search, we have introduced new measures across the Met. As well as requiring a conversation with a supervisor and the presence of an appropriate adult, an inspector must now give authority before the search takes place to ensure appropriate oversight. A Merlin report must also be submitted, to ensure safeguarding the child is the priority. The Merlin system contains information about a child coming to police attention.

Fonte/Source: https://news.met.police.uk/news/further-referrals-to-iopc-re-strip-searches-450206?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=Subscription&utm_content=news