Emily Sheffield: A school subjected to a humiliating search tells us a lot about the Met

When the public became aware of Child Q, the outrage was widespread and immediate. Who could not feel shame and revulsion at what happened to this school? I must warn readers that the following description may disturb you, especially if you have had a similar experience. Child Q was removed from her school program and searched due to completely unfounded suspicions that she was carrying drugs. It wasn’t just that she was undressed; two uniformed officers made her part her ass cheeks and cough. She told them she was on her period and yet they continued, forcing her to remove her tampon to get a proper look. She was only 15 years old.

Aside from the fact that the search was completely out of proportion to the “smell of marijuana” that the school first acted on by calling the police, none of the officers thought to ask the child’s parents for permission, nor did they insist that a school representative be in the room. Instead, the teachers waited outside. Child Q was later put in a taxi home.

Can you imagine anything more shameful when you are young? I can not. You’re about to take an exam and instead you’re taken to the school medical room and forced to undress in front of two strangers. And these foreigners wear a uniform long associated with historical brutality and racism against young black men.

To recap, for those unfamiliar with the case, a recent safeguarding review found that the warrantless search in Hackney in 2020 was unwarranted and that racism was “likely to have been an influencing factor”. Furthermore, the impact on the high school student was “profound” and the repercussions “obvious and ongoing.” Family members described her as changing from a “happy go-lucky girl to a shy recluse who hardly speaks” and who now self-harms.

Then I found out yesterday that the two officers involved in the search still have their jobs. They were only removed from the front line. The other officer who attended was not reprimanded at all. This completely undermines any confidence we might have that the Met understands the seriousness of what happened. Optics matter. There is a special power associated with an officer’s uniform and on the day that power was abused, they should have been suspended immediately while they were investigated by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), which is still ongoing.

As Child Q’s mother said through his lawyer when the safeguarding review was published: “We are now looking to the IOPC to ensure that there is an effective investigation into the officers involved so that they are held individually accountable and to face real consequences for what they have done. .”

This case seems to demonstrate that we cannot trust the police to conduct strip searches of children, so we should require the police to seek parental consent when searching those under 18. As the guidelines stand, they completely undermine the principles of parental responsibility. This, however, would not address the deeper issues at play here. Nor the removal or proper reprimanding of the officers involved in Child Q.

Despite the goodwill many Londoners have for the Met, it remains unable to undertake deep reform. I do not want to understate the positive steps that have been taken to date. But there is something very wrong at the core. Not a month goes by without another shocking revelation of racism, sexism and cases of officers and managers protecting their own.

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In light of so many scandals, there has never been a more crucial time for the Met as it awaits the appointment of a new commissioner. Child Q’s family have rightly called for the Home Secretary and the Mayor to ensure that only someone willing to publicly acknowledge institutional racism and sexism in the force is appointed. This will be a good start. But the big challenge once a commissioner is found is how to overhaul a system that promotes leaders from within. Institutionalized leadership is at every level. Priti Patel and Sadiq Khan can’t find a suitable candidate for Cressida Dick’s role from outside the MET. That should tell us something.

Both must plan how they will support the new commissioner – and not just with words that will later absolve them of responsibility. They should also impose reputational targets. And we, the public, must continue to express our outrage. Child Q deserves nothing less than wholesale change.