Strip searches on children by Northamptonshire Police doubled over four years
Between 2020 and September 2024, the force reported strip-searching 69 children between the ages of 10 and 17.
Last updated 12th Feb 2025
Northamptonshire Police has more than doubled the number of strip searches carried out on children over a four-year period, new figures have revealed. Between 2020 and September 2024, the force reported strip-searching 69 children between the ages of 10 and 17.
According to a Freedom of Information request submitted by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), the number of children searched has also increased year on year, starting at eight in 2020 and jumping to 23 under-18s strip-searched over 2023.
Northamptonshire Police said that the decision to search a young person in this way is never taken ‘lightly’. It added that carrying out a strip search on a child is a ‘last resort’ and that numbers in this area have reduced in the past couple of months.
The force reported that between August 2023 and July 2024, strip searches were carried out on boys aged between 13 and 17 years old. The reason recorded for all 12 strip searches over this period was the Misuse of Drugs act. Of the cases, two-thirds resulted in no further action and just youngsters were arrested.
Strip searches can be considered to have been conducted appropriately and within statutory codes of practice if the child was aged 10 or older, the search was not conducted in a police vehicle, or within public view, no more than two adults were present, including one officer of the same gender of the child, and one ‘appropriate’ adult was there.
During the same period, Northants Police reported that in 10 instances an ‘appropriate’ adult, such as a parent or guardian, social worker or carer, was present. In two cases records did not specify if someone was there during the search.
Assistant Chief Constable Adam Ward, said: “At Northamptonshire Police, we never take the decision to search a young person in this way lightly, however on the very rare occasion in which we need to, all of the necessary safeguards are put in place, including informing parents/guardians and ensuring the presence of an appropriate adult, to guarantee accountability and lawfulness.
“Although the number of cases that result in no further action is in line with other forces across the country, we recognise that a young person being searched and nothing being found causes distrust and anger, and this is something we continue to work on to improve both our outcome rates and the levels of disproportionately around searching.
“We scrutinise our performance in this area very closely and data is regularly compiled and analysed to ensure our use of this policing power is proportionate. In relation to the strip searching of children specifically, our numbers in this area have reduced in the past couple of months.
“Our focus when dealing with under 18s is to address harm, and we also always inform Children’s Social Care when a child is strip searched. Every single incidence of a child being strip searched is reviewed so that any learnings or failings can be addressed.”
The increasing trend of child strip searches in Northamptonshire from 2020 to 2023 differs from the national picture, which has been in decline in recent years. According to data from the Children’s Commissioner, 854 strip searches were conducted in 2020 compared to 243 for the first half of 2023.
Data from the same report suggested that between July 2022 and June 2023, Northamptonshire placed in the top three forces with the highest search rate as a proportion of all local children aged 10 to 17.
Northamptonshire Police stated that, as of autumn 2024, it has voluntarily adopted a process whereby a superintendent’s authority is required to carry out a strip search. It also added that all police officers receive ‘comprehensive training’ and that they are looking to integrate ‘trauma-informed’ training so they can better understand the impact on children.
Assistant Chief Constable Adam Ward continued: “For us, a strip search is the last resort where there is a significant risk of harm or strong evidence of a serious crime, such as the possession of weapons. Police officers are given powers such as this to protect our communities and tackle crime, however ensuring their use is legitimate is absolutely vital to maintaining the public’s trust and confidence.
“We welcome outside scrutiny and will continue working hard to ensure our processes in custody remain fair, safe, and transparent.”