Police stopped and strip-searched more than 2,800 children in four years – with the youngest only 8-years-old, a damning new report has revealed.
Using data for forces across England Wales, Children’s Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza found that nearly a quarter of children strip-searched were aged between 10 and 15.
More than a third (38%) of those strip-searched were black, and with black children making up 5.9% of the population that makes them more than six times more likely to be targeted.
Overall, 2,847 strip-searches took place between 2018 and mid-2022 of children aged between eight and 17.
The report will be published on Monday and comes after the Child Q scandal which came to light last March.
Read more: Police strip searching children as young as eight, damning report finds
