Police strip-searching children as young as eight, report into ‘deeply concerning practice’ finds

Police stopped and strip-searched more than 2,800 children in four years - with the youngest only eight years old, a damning new report has revealed.

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”.

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