Surrey Police sergeant who authorised strip search of woman in front of male officers admits misconduct

A Surrey Police officer has admitted misconduct after he authorised the strip search of a woman with male officers present.

It follows an investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) who said the incident in December 2019 breached the standards of professional behaviour.

The investigation found that the sergeant believed that the female detainee needed to be searched immediately for her own safety and for the safety of staff and other officers.

The IOPC says the sergeant also used the female detainee’s aggressive behaviour as a rationale for the necessity of an immediate search and he felt that officers could not wait for a female officer to assist the strip search.

CCTV and radio transmissions were analysed by the IOPC and it obtained an account from the sergeant and witness statements from multiple police officers.

The IOPC's final report provided to Surrey Police, found that the sergeant had a case to answer for misconduct.

A misconduct meeting was arranged by Surrey Police and held last Monday (25 August).

The sergeant will undergo management advice, the lowest level of misconduct.

IOPC Regional Director Sarah Green said: “Our investigation was completed thoroughly and quickly.

"Strip searching a member of the opposite sex in this way was in breach of the standards expected of a police officer who has been rightly sanctioned as a result."

Deputy Chief Constable Nev Kemp for Surrey Police said: “This case was referred to our Professional Standards Department following a regular performance review which I hope is reassuring to the public that we constantly monitor our own standards and hold ourselves to account.

“We are sorry the woman was put in a position where she was searched by officers of the opposite sex, which is clearly against long-standing best practice. It should not happen.

“Officers undergo a thorough training programme and have up to two months of mentor support when starting in custody to ensure our high standards are met.

“Ordinarily we also have a split balance of male and female staff on duty at any one time to ensure we can call on the right support to facilitate a strip search without delay.

“Sadly on this occasion we did not have a female member of staff on duty meaning there would have been a delay.

"We have since reviewed our policy and practice and paid particular attention to staffing rotas to ensure this isn’t repeated, and have also refreshed our training input to make sure best practice relating to strip searches is followed.”