Three Met Police officers who carried out a strip-search of a black schoolgirl wrongly accused of possessing cannabis have been found to have committed gross misconduct and misconduct.
A disciplinary hearing, held at Central East Command Unit today, found a number of allegations proven against trainee Detective Constable Kristina Linge, PC Victoria Wray and PC Rafal Szmydynski over the treatment of the schoolgirl, referred to as Child Q.
The 15-year-old girl was searched while on her period with no appropriate adult present at a school in Hackney after being accused of carrying drugs on December 3, 2020.
Nothing was found in her bags or outer clothing.
The hearing concluded that the search of Child Q was 鈥渦nnecessary, inappropriate and disproportionate鈥.
The actions of trainee detective constable Kristina Linge and Pc Rafal Szmydynski amounted to gross misconduct while the behaviour of Pc Victoria Wray amounted to misconduct, the police disciplinary tribunal sitting in south east London ruled on Thursday.
Allegations that all three breached the standards of professional behaviour for equality and diversity were not proven.
The officers are now waiting to hear if they will be sacked, or what other penalty they may face, in light of the findings.
The Metropolitan Police said they are “deeply sorry” for the experience of Child Q and apologised for “organisational failings” that led to the strip search.
Commander Kevin Southworth said: “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.
“While the officers involved did not act correctly, we acknowledge there were organisational failings. 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. This left officers, often young in service or junior in rank, making difficult decisions in complex situations with little information, support or clear resources to help their decision-making.
“What happened to Child Q was a catalyst for change both for the Met and for policing nationally.
“While we should not have needed an incident such as Child Q to check our approach, it has absolutely led us to improving our processes and significantly reducing the number of these types of searches carried out.
“It’s crucial we get this right to ensure the impact on young people is minimised as far as possible.
“Sadly, we know there are children in London being exploited to carry drugs and weapons for others as well as involved in criminality, so these types of searches have to remain within police powers. The work we have done since Child Q means we now have the right safeguards in place.”
The misconduct hearing is now considering sanctions for the officers.