We welcome the Child Q update report and the detailed work by the authors to both understand the progress made by the Met and to place the voice of children in such a prominent position within the findings.
Detective Chief Superintendent James Conway, who leads policing in Hackney and Tower Hamlets, said:
“The experience of Child Q should never have happened and I am sorry for the trauma that we caused her, and I am also sorry it took an event like this to highlight that we were overusing this type of strip search on children.
“The report correctly identifies the need for a child centred approach and the crucial need for police to be careful and proportionate in the use of all of our powers. This is even more important for the most intrusive searches, such as these type of strip searches, and especially when involving children. We should not have needed an incident such as Child Q to check our approach.
“While we have made notable practical improvements, such as requiring more senior levels of authorisation, what happened to Child Q illustrates why public scrutiny is so crucial in checking how we use our powers. We should never tire of testing that we are policing with the consent of the public.”
We have been working hard to listen to what our communities and partners have told us about this incident. We wish these types of searches were not necessary but sadly we know there are children in London being exploited to carry drugs and weapons for others, as well as being involved in criminality.
Work locally and across the Met has significantly reduced the use of this type of search, as the report identifies. There is, of course, more to do and we will continue our conversations with communities, and particularly young people, to ensure our policing response reflects their needs, whilst meeting public safety.
The report talks in detail about the experiences of Black children in east London. We are absolutely committed to turning the Met around to be anti-discrimination in every way. We are aware the outcomes of our efforts can impact different communities and individuals in a disproportionate way and will keep listening to better understand their lived experiences to shape how we police.
We will now take some time to consider the update report and its findings and recommendations.
We voluntarily referred the incident involving Child Q to the Independent Office for Police Conduct in May 2021 after receiving complaints. The IOPC are independently investigating and we await their findings.
+ The update report is published here.
+ Det Ch Supt Conway has also written an open letter to local residents.
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On average in London, in the five years to 31 May 2023, we have each year seen 490 children (aged 17 and under) injured in a knife crime incident. Tragically, during that five year period, 57 children were fatally stabbed.
An annual average of 578 children were arrested for possession with intent to supply drugs and 1,356 were arrested for possession of an offensive weapon.
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Stats are until 31 May 2023 and taken as an average over the five years.
+ The figure of 490 children relates to victims aged 1 – 17 of knife crime offences where the offence involves an injury with a knife. Injuries can range from a cut or slash wound to a stabbing.
+ Arrests for possession with intent to supply drugs include Class A, B and C drugs.
+ The figures do not include domestic abuse related incidents.
+ Arrests for possession with intent to supply drugs include Class A, B and C drugs.
+ Arrests for possession of an offensive weapon include possession of a pointed/bladed article and possession of firearms.
