Maybe it’s time the police service went to the trouble of explaining what a “ strip search “ is and when police officers feel the need to conduct a search. As a Custody Sgt in South London, we were always careful around the authorisation of a strip search in custody. CCTV, Mental Health advisors and nurses were pretty much present all the time, there was no blasé approach to strip searching. If feels to me like the IOPC are trawling for a systemic issue or a super complaint to get their teeth into. Again there has been no pushback or update regarding the complaints highlighted in the media. It’s time to stop taking it on the chin.

I am sure that in this day and age no officer is going off on a whim and searching so called children. Love the fact that IOPC are so concerned about searching 16-17 year olds! They do realise that these young people are fully capable of carrying weapons and using them on anybody they take umbrage with. Where are the police going to find an suitable adult at 3am in Peckham high Street? The inevitable consequence of this is the SMT cowering before IOPC and the MSM hyped up scare stories will order officers to desist from doing any stop searches of juveniles. Then watch the murder rate rocket as they quickly hand all their weapons to the 13 year old and laugh all the way to their next victim.

Law and order is a shambles, all part of the master plan to destroy western values and government.

The problem is always caused by officers overreaching their powers to excert power. In America it called power because the officer believes the person has no right to demand their rights. There are many examples. Look at the misuse of sec43. When pushed officers state they are not calling them a terrorist. Yet sec 43 requires them to be a terrorist.

ASG You are correct, the IOPC are looking for a cause to focus on. We have had them advertising on Social Media for people to come forward if they were dealt with under the Mental Health legislation, and were unhappy with the way the officers dealt with them. Reminiscent of the low grade lawyers chasing ambulances to get paid work. The IOPC is fast becoming an untrustworthy organisation, only at present, just behind the Russian Foreign Minister.

The IOPC must be salivating at the thought of more scalps!

@Anthony Fast becoming!! I think they have been that for a very long time.

I have just watched the highly sensationalist reporting on Channel 5 news. Shock horror that 650 under 18's have been strip searched in London in two years. No balance in the reporting whatsoever, no mention that the majority of street dealers and runner's are under 18, no mention of the spiralling murder rate of young black men and boys by young black men and boys. No mention of the law which does allow strip searches to take place if certain criteria are met. Considering the vast scale and extent of serious violent criminality in many boroughs across London, I am actually surprised how low the numbers are. One Youth Advocate on the aforementioned news piece said that Stop / Searching under 18's should be banned. Perhaps the Met should try that for 6 months until those members of the same communities beg the Met to stop the stabbings, shootings and carnage on their streets!