Three officers to answer for ‘racist’ search that left Child Q exposed, humiliated and self-harming – as critics blast FIVE-YEAR delay to justice
Three Metropolitan Police officers are finally facing a misconduct hearing over the shocking strip-search of a 15-year-old Black schoolgirl that sparked nationwide outrage and protests over racism and police brutality.
The officers – trainee detective constable Kristina Linge and police constables Victoria Wray and Rafal Szmydynski – are accused of conducting a search that was “disproportionate in all the circumstances” when they forced Child Q to expose her intimate body parts at her Hackney school in December 2020.
The hearing, scheduled for June 2025, comes after a damning report found that racism was “likely” to have been a factor in the traumatic incident that has left the teenager self-harming and in therapy.
‘They stripped me naked while on my period’
The horrifying details of what happened to Child Q on December 3, 2020, sent shockwaves through Britain when they emerged in March 2022.
The teenager was pulled out of a mock exam after teachers wrongly suspected she was carrying cannabis because she “smelt of cannabis”.
What followed was a violation that Child Q says has destroyed her childhood.
Someone walked into the school, where I was supposed to feel safe, took me away from the people who were supposed to protect me and stripped me naked, while on my period,” the girl said in her victim statement.
Two female officers took Child Q to the school’s medical room where they subjected her to a humiliating strip search. The teenager was told to bend over, spread her legs, and use her hands to spread her buttocks while coughing.
She was menstruating at the time and was instructed to remove her sanitary towel. Her mother later revealed that her daughter was then told to “put the same dirty towel back on because they would not allow her to use the restroom to clean herself.
No appropriate adult was present. Her parents were never contacted. No drugs were found.
From ‘happy-go-lucky’ to ‘timid recluse’
The impact on Child Q has been devastating. Her maternal aunt revealed in a letter how the teenager had transformed from “a happy go lucky girl” to a “timid recluse” who hardly spoke.
I can’t go a single day without wanting to scream, shout, cry or just give up,” Child Q said. “I’m just a child.”
“I don’t know if I can feel normal again. But I do know this can’t happen to anyone, ever again.”
The teenager is now self-harming and requires ongoing therapy as a result of the trauma.
‘Justice delayed is justice denied’
Critics have slammed the nearly five-year delay in bringing the officers to account.
Leroy Logan, a former Met superintendent and former chair of the Met Black Police Association, didn’t mince words: “Justice delayed is justice denied. Child Q and her family need justice and a four- to five-year delay is scandalous. This is down to a lack of grip by senior leaders in the Met.”
The misconduct hearing will examine allegations that:
- The decision to undertake the search was inappropriate
- There was no consultation with a supervisor to obtain authorisation
- There was no appropriate adult present during the search
- Child Q was discriminated against because of her race and sex
A fourth officer will face a separate disciplinary meeting.
Racism ‘likely’ a factor
A damning safeguarding review by the City and Hackney Safeguarding Children Partnership concluded that “racism (whether deliberate or not) was likely to have been an influencing factor in the decision to undertake a strip search.”
The report also found evidence of “adultification bias” – where Black children are perceived as older and less innocent than their white peers, leading to harsher treatment.
Shockingly, data revealed that in 2020/21, police in Hackney conducted strip searches on 25 children. Of those, nothing was found on 22 of them – and 60% were Black.
School failed to protect her
The scandal exposed failures not just by police but by the school itself, which was criticised for deferring to officers and failing to challenge their actions.
Teachers remained outside while Child Q was subjected to the traumatic search, effectively enabling the violation of their student’s rights.
Hackney Mayor Philip Glanville and Deputy Mayor Anntoinette Bramble condemned what happened as “appalling,” stating: “Child Q was subjected to humiliating, traumatising and utterly shocking treatment by police officers – actions that were wholly disproportionate to the alleged incident.
Family sues for justice
Child Q and her mother are now suing both the Metropolitan Police and the school for breaching her rights.
We now look to the Independent Office for Police Conduct to make sure there is an effective investigation into the officers involved so they are individually held to account and face real consequences for what they have done,” her mother said.
The family’s lawyer, Chanel Dolcy of Bhatt Murphy Solicitors, said they expect the new Met Commissioner to “declare publicly the persistence of institutional racism and institutional sexism in the Metropolitan Police.”
Calls for sweeping reform
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has called for a substantial review of police strip search powers following multiple incidents involving children.
IOPC director Steve Noonan said: “The strip search of Child Q, a 15-year-old girl, at her school in Hackney caused widespread concern. We have investigated the circumstances surrounding how this child was treated that day as fully as possible.”
The Met has since introduced new measures requiring more senior levels of authorisation for strip searches and has promised “significant practical improvements.”
‘This can’t happen to anyone, ever again’
Despite receiving support from thousands worldwide, Child Q’s simple message remains clear: this must never happen again.
As she prepares to see the officers who violated her finally face justice, her words echo the demands of a community that has had enough: “I want to thank the thousands of people across the world of all backgrounds who have offered me support. I know I am not alone.”
The misconduct hearing in June will determine whether Britain’s biggest police force can finally begin to reckon with the institutional racism that allowed a child to be stripped, humiliated and traumatised in a place where she should have been safe.
For Child Q, justice has been too long coming. But her courage in speaking out has ensured that her violation will not be forgotten – or repeated.
Image: Metropolitan Police officers at Occupy London Finsbury Square
Author: James Mitchell
License: CC BY-SA 2.0
Source: Wikimedia Commons
