The number of strip-searches of children by police in Greater Manchester

New figures have revealed 20 children were strip-searched by Greater Manchester Police over a four-year period. It represents just one per cent of the total number of searches carried out under police stop and search powers between 2018 and mid-2022.

The figures have been published by the office of the Children's Commissioner for England (CCo). In Cheshire, the figure stands at 10, with 56 children strip-searched by police in neighbouring Lancashire over the same period.

The commissioner ordered the report after the Child Q scandal which came to light last March. The 15-year-old black schoolgirl was strip-searched by police while on her period after being wrongly suspected of carrying cannabis at school. Scotland Yard later apologised and said the strip-search at the girl's school in 2020 without another adult present 'should never have happened'.

The report looking at the national picture reveals children as young as eight have been strip-searched and black children were up to six times more likely to be strip-searched by police.

It also revealed more than half of the almost-3,000 strip-searches in recent years have taken place without an appropriate adult present, a report has shown. Locations for searches across England and Wales included police vehicles and schools with a small number even taking place in takeaways and amusement parks, the research by the Children’s Commissioner revealed.

Dame Rachel de Souza said the findings demonstrated 'evidence of deeply concerning practice' with 'widespread non-compliance' with statutory safeguards, and added that children are 'being failed by those whose job it is to protect them'.

After the Child Q scandal, Dame Rachel requested figures for strip-searches by the Metropolitan