Met Officers finally face justice after ‘humiliating’ strip search of 15 year old

Two Metropolitan Police officers involved in the strip search of a 15-year-old Black girl, known as Child Q, at a Hackney school in 2020 have been found guilty of gross misconduct. This important decision comes after a detailed investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) and a four-week misconduct hearing led by the IOPC.

The disciplinary panel ruled that the decision to strip search the girl, which included exposing private parts of her body, was excessive, inappropriate, and unnecessary. The panel found that this invasive action “was disproportionate, inappropriate and unnecessary, which was humiliating for the child and made her feel degraded.”

IOPC Director Amanda Rowe said: “Our sympathies remain with the young woman, who was a child at the time, and her family. It’s important to acknowledge that at the heart of this case was a child, in a vulnerable position, who officers failed to protect and unjustifiably subjected to a strip search. We know this incident has had a significant and long-lasting impact on her wellbeing.”

Police who strip-searched a teen girl found guilty

The director also said, “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.”

Trainee Detective Constable (T/DC) Kristina Linge and Police Constable (PC) Rafal Szmydynski were found responsible for multiple violations of police professional standards. These failures included neglecting their duties and responsibilities, abusing their authority, showing a lack of respect and courtesy, disobeying orders and instructions, and engaging in behavior that brought discredit to the police force.

Szmydynski was identified as playing a major role in the events leading to the search. The panel determined that the officers failed to arrange for an appropriate adult to be present during the search, did not get approval from a senior officer before going ahead with it, and did not give Child Q a copy of the search record afterward. These mistakes went directly against police training and policy.

Additionally, the officers did not respect Child Q’s rights as a child and failed to protect her properly during the incident, even though she had told them she was on her period at the time. A third officer, Victoria Wray, was also found to have committed misconduct, though not gross misconduct. The panel concluded that Wray did not question whether the search was excessive or check whether proper authorization had been given before it happened.

Her failures related to duties and responsibilities, authority, respect and courtesy, and orders and instructions. The panel noted that her role was different from the other officers, as her misconduct came from not challenging their actions rather than directly initiating the search.

Normally, we see officers deal with murders and watch bodycam footage arresting others, but this is one of those times when you have to wonder why these people were officers to begin with. The incident has had a deep and lasting impact on Child Q’s mental health. She has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, and her education has suffered because of the trauma. The decision to strip-search a 15-year-old at school based only on a suspicion that she had a small amount of cannabis, which was never found, was ruled completely unreasonable.