Child Q was forced to remove sanitary towel during traumatic search at Hackney school with no adult present – as panel rules race was NOT a factor despite protests
Two Metropolitan Police officers face being sacked after a misconduct panel found they committed gross misconduct during the “disproportionate” strip search of a 15-year-old black schoolgirl wrongly suspected of carrying cannabis.
PCs Kristina Linge and Rafal Szmydynski could be dismissed from the force after a four-week hearing concluded their treatment of the girl – known as Child Q – was “unnecessary,” “humiliating” and left her feeling “degraded.”
A third officer, PC Victoria Wray, was cleared of gross misconduct but found guilty of misconduct after the panel determined she became involved in a “situation where the decision had been decided already.”
The case sparked nationwide outrage when it emerged in March 2022, with hundreds taking to the streets of Hackney in protest and the Children’s Commissioner for England, Dame Rachel de Souza, branding it “shocking.
But in a controversial finding today, Commander Jason Prins, who chaired the misconduct panel, said: “We do not draw any inference that race was an effective cause of this incident” – despite the original safeguarding review finding racism was “likely” a factor.
Forced to Remove Sanitary Towel
The horrifying incident took place on December 3, 2020, when Child Q was taken out of a mock exam at her Hackney school after teachers claimed they could smell cannabis on her.
Despite staff already searching her blazer, shoes, scarf and bag and finding nothing, they called police claiming she might be carrying drugs for someone else or being exploited by gangs.
What followed was a traumatic ordeal that transformed the teenager from a “happy-go-lucky girl” and “top of the class” student into a “timid recluse” who self-harms and requires therapy, according to her family.
The “intimate” strip search involved:
- Removal of all her clothing including underwear
- Being forced to bend over and expose intimate body parts
- Having to remove her sanitary towel while menstruating
- Enduring the search with no appropriate adult present
- Her mother not being informed until afterwards
- Officers searching through her hair after finding no drugs
Child Q was so traumatised by the experience she could not give evidence at the hearing “because of the psychological effects that this strip search has had on her,” the panel heard.
‘There Should Never Have Been a Strip Search’
Commander Prins delivered a damning verdict on the officers’ actions, stating: “There should never have been a strip search in these circumstances.”
He accepted that Child Q found the experience “humiliating and degrading” and ruled the search was both “unnecessary” and “disproportionate.
The panel found the officers breached police standards relating to:
- Duties and responsibilities
- Authority, respect and courtesy
- Orders and instructions
- Discreditable conduct
IOPC Director Amanda Rowe said: “Their decision to strip search a 15-year-old at school on suspicion of a small amount of cannabis was completely disproportionate. They failed to follow the policies that exist to ensure that children in these situations have appropriate protective measures in place.”
Protests Rock Hackney
When news of the strip search broke in March 2022, it triggered massive protests outside Stoke Newington police station, with around 500 demonstrators blocking roads and carrying banners reading “No police in schools” and “Black children are not safe in schools.
Students at Petchey Academy in Hackney staged their own protest, sitting out of classes in solidarity with Child Q. Reports emerged of children at other secondary schools refusing to return to classrooms after lunch breaks.
One mother who joined the protests with her daughters said: “It hits you emotionally, I have girls of a similar age. To be stripped naked at school – it’s out of order, it’s disgraceful.”
MP Diane Abbott, who represents Hackney North and Stoke Newington, said at the time: “I thought we had put the worst of that behind us. But here we are confronted with brutality by Hackney police officers all over again.
Shocking Statistics Revealed
The case exposed disturbing patterns in how police treat black children in Hackney. A safeguarding review revealed that 25 children were strip-searched in the borough in just one year – with 23 of them being black and only two white.
In 22 of those cases, nothing was found on the children, highlighting both the ineffectiveness and discriminatory nature of the practice.
Professor Gus John, the first black head of education when appointed to Hackney in 1989, said the incident reminded him of apartheid South Africa and warned: “There is a war on black youth.
PTSD and Self-Harm
The lasting impact on Child Q has been devastating. Within days of the strip search, she visited her doctor with anxiety symptoms, with medical notes suggesting she showed “appearance of symptoms of anxiety consistent with PTSD.
Her maternal aunt revealed in a letter that the teenager had transformed from “a happy go lucky girl” to someone who “hardly speaks” and now self-harms, requiring ongoing therapy.
The family’s solicitors confirmed they would be taking legal action against both the Metropolitan Police and the unnamed school.
Officers’ Defence
During the hearing, all three officers gave evidence claiming they were not influenced by subconscious bias. Luke Ponte, representing PC Linge, described them as “three immigrant officers” who were “trying to do their best to their adopted country.
He argued: “These officers must not bear the entire weight of Child Q where there has been wider dysfunction as to how this came about.”
The hearing revealed shocking gaps in police training, with officers receiving no updates on stop and search procedures after initial training, and instruction on conducting searches in schools described as “insufficient.
Met’s ‘Deep’ Apology
Commander Kevin Southworth issued a grovelling apology on behalf of the force, saying: “The experience of Child Q should never have happened and was truly regrettable.
“We have sincerely apologised to Child Q since this incident happened. Again, I am deeply sorry to Child Q and her family for the trauma that we caused her, and the damage this incident caused to the trust and confidence Black communities across London have in our officers.
He admitted: “Training to our officers around strip-search and the type of search carried out on Child Q was inadequate, and our oversight of the power was also severely lacking.
Changes Since Child Q
The Met claims to have made significant changes since the incident, including:
- Issuing guidance to every frontline officer on correct procedures
- Requiring an appropriate adult to be present for any child strip search
- Training 20,000 officers on avoiding “adultification” of black children
- Reducing strip searches of children from 68 (June 2023-May 2024) to 42 (June 2024-May 2025)
A fourth officer faces a separate disciplinary meeting at a later date regarding the absence of an appropriate adult during the search.
The sanctions for PCs Linge and Szmydynski will be decided at a later date, with dismissal from the force a strong possibility given the gross misconduct finding.
For Child Q and her family, however, no amount of apologies or policy changes can undo the trauma inflicted that day in December 2020 – a day when those meant to protect a vulnerable child instead subjected her to what campaigners called “state-sanctioned sexual assault.”
