Scotland Yard chiefs must show humility over the strip search of Child Q, according to the chair of its Black Police Association who warned that public trust in the force was being further eroded.
Sergeant Chris Excell said his members felt “anger and frustration” over the 15-year-old black schoolgirl’s ordeal, which was revealed soon after a damning report into a toxic culture of racism, sexism and homophobia at Charing Cross police station.
A safeguarding report said the “traumatic” search of the teenager was unjustified and “racism was likely” to have been a factor.
In an interview with the Standard, Mr Excell said: “How many bad apples before you start looking at the tree?”
Although “gutted” over Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick’s resignation, he said the Met’s leadership is divided as to whether systemic racism exists in its ranks. Until they “owned it”, he suggested more scandals would emerge.
Mr Excell said: “When I heard the details of Child Q’s case, my head dropped into my hands because it was another injustice on the black community. My heart sank because it happened in a school, a place where she should have felt protected, with authorities coming after her in such a way.
“You only have to be a human being to feel it.”
He added: “Trust in the Met continues to be eroded and yet we are supposed to police by consent. If you imagine trust being like a bank vault in the community, if you don’t make deposits, there’s no currency when you need it. And the public certainly won’t give us an overdraft. Moving forward, there needs to be humility at management level and an acceptance of the problem.”
Hundreds have marched on Whitehall, a police station and the girl’s school since the safeguarding report found Child Q was removed from an exam in December 2020 after a teacher wrongly accused her of possessing cannabis.
During the search, teachers remained outside the Hackney school’s medical room as she was made to take off her clothes while on her period. Drugs were not found. Two female officers have been removed from frontline duties while the Independent Office for Police Conduct finalises a report. Mayor Sadiq Khan has called for the officers to be charged with gross misconduct.
Commander Dr Alison Heydari, of the Met’s Frontline Policing, said: “While we await the findings of the IOPC investigation, we have already taken action to ensure that our officers have a refreshed understanding of the policy for conducting a ‘further search’ and advice around dealing with schools, ensuring that children are treated as children.
“We are in full agreement with the safeguarding review that this incident should never have happened. It is truly regrettable and on behalf of the Met I reiterate our apology to the child concerned, her family and the wider community.”
