[Cherie]

You think it cant get much worse for the Met but...


15-year-old black schoolgirl strip-searched by police was pulled out of an exam so the "traumatic incident" could take place, a safeguarding report says.
Teachers at her Hackney school called the Met Police after wrongly suspecting her of carrying cannabis in 2020.
The report found the search, without another adult present, was unjustified and racism "likely" a factor. Local MP Diane Abbott also said it was racist.
Scotland Yard said the search "should never have happened".
The victim - referred to as Child Q - told the Local Child Safeguarding Practice Review: "On top of preparing for the most important exams of my life, I can't go a single day without wanting to scream, shout, cry or just give up."
The victim's mother told the report that after the strip-search in 2020, her daughter had been "asked to go back into the exam" she had been sitting "without any teacher asking her about how she felt knowing what she had just gone through".
The review said the impact on Child Q had been "profound" and the repercussions "obvious and ongoing", with family members describing her as changing from a "happy-go-lucky girl to a timid recluse that hardly speaks".
Apology after schoolgirl strip-searched by police
Met apology to woman over language in strip search
The girl's maternal aunt was quoted as saying the pupil had changed from "top of the class" to "a shell of her former bubbly self", adding she was "now self-harming and requires therapy".
She added: "From the time she was pulled out of her exam to the time she returned home, she was isolated, not given food or offered water, where is the care."
Hackney North and Stoke Newington MP Diane Abbot told BBC Radio London's Eddie Nestor the strip-search had made her "feel sick as a mother" and that "racism absolutely played a part".
"The Met Police is not going into private schools and asking white girls to spread their buttock cheeks," she said.
The report states that in 2020-2021, there were 25 searches of under-18s in the same borough.
Intimate body parts exposed
Ms Abbott said: "Only two of those 25 under-18 searches were white, the figures tell you this is about race."
During the incident, the girl was taken to the school's medical room and strip-searched by two female Met police officers, while teachers remained outside. Her parents were not contacted.
Her intimate body parts were exposed and she was made to take off her sanitary towel, according to the review. No drugs were found.
In a written statement to the review, the girl said: "I need to know that the people who have done this to me can't do it to anyone else ever again, in fact so no-one else can do this to any other child in their care."


https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-60766891

[bitontheslide]

the met just don't seem to have a clue how to behave properly

[Cherie]

The school didn't tell her Mum, there was no appropriate adult, the teachers stayed outside the room, then they sent her back into an exam they had pulled her out of after they found nothing....

[hijaxers]

Originally Posted by bitontheslide

the met just don't seem to have a clue how to behave properly

Neither do teaching staff here.

[Oliver_W]

Is a strip search really the first thing the police do whem a child is suspected of carrying drugs?

Is phoning the police really what London schools think os the appropiate first thing to do when one of their students is merely suspected of carrying drugs?

What happened to safeguarding and duty of care? Just a failure all round.

[Niamh.]

That's absolutely disgusting

[parmnion]

Absolutely disgusting...this story has sickened me to the core.

They should have given her a questionnaire to fill so they could then decide if she was guilty.

[LeatherTrumpet]

I take it they boasted about this on WhatsApp all week after?

[arista]

Originally Posted by Niamh.

That's absolutely disgusting

Yes, the Same Sanitary towel
she had use it again.



The Women Police officers broke rules.

[Josy]

That's completely unacceptable

[michael21]

Originally Posted by Josy

That's completely unacceptable

Yes

[GoldHeart]

Wtf
Perverse .

It's funny how they don't do this to actual DANGEROUS ADULTS, they'd rather do it to a young girl ???!! .

[parmnion]

Its mad..

We've all probably known someone who had no police assistance when urgently needed..some may have experienced it themselves.

Yet a kid smelling of weed...weed of all things..ends up in this..

I seriously hope her parents feel a little guilt, cause the smell probably came from her clothes hanging about at home. Especially that area, where its more uncommon not to smell of weed, than actually smell of weed.

Words of a former teacher from the area.

What kind of copper would do this!

All I can think is thw girl got a bit gobby and the pigs, cause that is what they were. The pigs flexed their authority to force their imagined authority.

[arista]

Taken 2 years for this to go public.


Good on GMBHD itv
debating this Live.

GBnewsHD have debated this.
SkyNewsHD have.

BBC nothing yet, this morning

[Cherie]

The detail of what they made this child do is horrifying

[bitontheslide]

what it highlights is failure in the education system and more failures in the met. It's inexcusable, heads should roll for that

[Alf]

Originally Posted by arista

Taken 2 years for this to go public.


Good on GMBHD itv
debating this Live.

GBnewsHD have debated this.
SkyNewsHD have.

BBC nothing yet, this morning

Of course GMB are debating it, there's suggestions that it was racist so they'd have been salivating at the mouth to bring that story.

[rusticgal]

Under 16...no parent present... surely that is against the Law.

Poor girl....I hope they sue.

[GoldHeart]

Originally Posted by rusticgal

Under 16...no parent present... surely that is against the Law.

Poor girl....I hope they sue.

This is what I don't understand.
She's a minor, why did this even happen in the first place.
Disgusting really.

[Kizzy]

How were they not aware of the repercussions?

The school were equally at fault too as far as I can see they have a safeguarding responsibility. Why did they allow this?

A uniform does not mean anyone can do anything.
Even if the police werent following their proceedure the school should have.

[rusticgal]

Originally Posted by GoldHeart

This is what I don't understand.
She's a minor, why did this even happen in the first place.
Disgusting really.

It’s appalling….

[bitontheslide]

A black pupil who was strip-searched after being wrongly suspected of carrying drugs is suing the Met Police.

The 15-year-old, also known as Child Q, is also taking civil action against her school, the law firm Bhatt Murphy said.

Scotland Yard has apologised after a safeguarding report found the search was unjustified and racism was "likely" to have been a factor.

Speaking via her lawyers, the girl said she wanted "cast-iron commitments to ensure this never happens again".

In a statement, she said: "I want to thank the thousands of people across the world of all backgrounds who have offered me support - both publicly and through messages conveyed to my legal team - following everything I've been through.

"I know I am not alone."

Hundreds of people attended a protest organised by Hackney Cop Watch at Stoke Newington police station.



During the incident, the girl was taken out of an exam to the school's medical room and strip-searched by two female Met police officers searching for cannabis, while teachers remained outside.

No other adult was present and her parents were not contacted.

Her intimate body parts were exposed and she was made to take off her sanitary towel, according to the review. No drugs were found.
The victim's mother told the safeguarding review that after the strip-search, her daughter had been "asked to go back into the exam" she had been sitting with no teacher asking about her welfare.

Her family said the girl had changed from "top of the class" to "a shell of her former bubbly self", and she was now self-harming and required therapy.

One of Friday's protesters told the BBC "she can't even fathom" the "disgusting" treatment of the teenager.

She said: "What they did to that child has brought tears to my eyes every day because I'm thinking 'could that have been my daughter once upon a time, could that be my granddaughter?"

London's mayor Sadiq Khan has written to the head of the police watchdog urging them to consider a case of gross misconduct.

However, the Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC) said its investigation was complete and its report was being "finalised".

It added three police constables had been served with notices last year advising them they were under investigation for misconduct, "over their roles in either carrying out the strip search or involvement in supervising it".

Scotland Yard has said the officers' actions were "truly regrettable" and it "should never have happened".

Met Police Commander Dr Alison Heydari said: "While we await the findings of the IOPC investigation, we have already taken action to ensure that our officers and staff have a refreshed understanding of the policy for conducting a 'further search' and advice around dealing with schools, ensuring that children are treated as children."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-60797237

[Kizzy]

Not good enough... there is a proceedure already in place it was just not followed. The police and the school were negligent end of.

[Cherie]

The school are equally culpable here....they call parents at the drop of a hat...so why not in this case

[Toy Soldier]

It's just horrific... I can't even quite describe the fury if something like this happened to one of mine.