The Observer reveals that the number of stop and searches on children under 10 has significantly increased since 2014.
Between 2009-2013, an average of 227 children per year were stopped and searched. In 2023, this had doubled: at least 432 children under the age of criminal responsibility were searched by police forces in England and Wales in 2023.
Nearly a quarter of those searches were conducted on those from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds and were disproportionately high compared to population representation.
79% of all searches led to no further action from officers.
The highest number of searches on children under 10 was Avon and Somerset, at 117, followed by Kent and the Metropolitan police.
The Observer identified two forces (Kent & Devon and Cornwall) which had recorded strip-searches on children under 10 where officers removed ‘more than just outer clothing’.
Police reform campaign group StopWatch said that using stop and search on children under 10 was ‘nothing short of a human rights violation’. ‘Children’s vulnerability to psychological suffering and intimidation during and in the aftermath of a strip-search in particular cannot be overstated. The police cannot undo the trauma they cause.’
Although children under 10 cannot be charged with a crime if they break the law, they can still be subject to interventions and safety orders from the police. Additionally, parents or guardians may be held criminally liable, or children can be taken into care.
More than 200 of the searches related to illicit drugs, and 87 related to suspicions of carrying offensive weapons.
In April, the Observer revealed that thousands of children under 18 had been strip-searched by police last year, with black, Asian and mixed-race children significantly more likely to be targeted.
Earlier in May, police minister Chris Philip stated that stop and searches were ‘not used nearly enough’ by police, and they ought to increase to address knife crime adequately.
The Home Office said that ‘stop and search is a vital tool for tackling crime and protecting communities’ and that ‘safeguards exist to protect children who are subject to stop and search, and police have a legal duty to consider children’s safety and welfare’.
However, StopWatch reiterate that ‘law enforcement measures currently in place do not meet these standards and therefore cannot be seen as an effective way of safeguarding them. Children should be able to live a police-free childhood as far as possible’.
