New research from the Children’s Commissioner, Dame Rachel de Souza, reveals that while strip searches of children are falling overall, Black children remain disproportionately overrepresented and face worse outcomes in other police tactics, including use of force and stop and search.
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Strip search is among the most intrusive powers available to the police, and its use on children is deeply concerning. Although strip searches are often carried out on suspicion of drug possession, new research from the Children’s Commissioner shows that almost half result in no further action.
In the report, the Children’s Commissioner highlights pervasive racial disparities in strip searches. Black children are almost eight times more likely to be strip-searched than White children and around five times more likely than Asian children. These findings show that strip searches continue to be used despite well-documented racial disparities, reflecting systemic bias in how Black children are treated by the police.
For the first time, the Commissioner also revealed a troubling pattern of children being repeatedly strip-searched. Nearly 30% of searches involved children who had previously been subjected to a strip search. This suggests the over-policing of the same cohort of children and points to ineffective safeguarding.
Repeated strip searches are likely to negatively affect children’s sense of safety and identity, and may contribute to Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). The Runnymede Trust has also warned that young people who encounter the police are more likely to display criminal behaviour, demonstrating the counter-intuitive nature of police powers.
At Action for Race Equality, one of our core aims is to address racialised policing. In examining the use of force within stop and search, the Commissioner found that Black children were overrepresented and were more likely to have their size, gender or build cited as justification.
As a result, Black children face heightened scrutiny based on personal characteristics, unfairly placing them at disproportionate risk of police harm.
Notably, the language used to justify force, including size, gender and build, mirrors the way adults are assessed. This suggests that Black children are being held to an adult standard, in direct contrast to their age and developmental needs. As such, they are denied the protections and safeguards children should benefit from. This is a form of Adultification bias: the idea that innocence and vulnerability are not equally afforded to Black children. Safeguarding researcher Jahnine Davis has argued that race and racism are central to how this bias operates.
Adultification bias also highlights a contradiction. Black children are held to a higher standard, yet they are subject to police intervention on weaker grounds. This suggests that when police engage with Black children, it is neither inclusive nor child-focused.
The Commissioner’s report raises key questions about proportionality, necessity and justification. Evidence suggests these standards are not consistently met in practice. This is concerning in any context, but the risks are significantly higher when children are involved.
Children often have complex needs, and strip searches, stop and search, and use of force can compound trauma. The Commissioner has made seven recommendations, including reducing the use of strip searches, piloting alternative technologies such as X-ray scanners, and urging police forces to review ethnic disproportionality in the use of force.
These recommendations reflect the need for an equitable policing regime: one that treats all children as children first.
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