Child Q told she ‘might be arrested’ during strip-search incident

A black schoolgirl who was strip-searched by Metropolitan Police officers was told she “might be arrested” if she refused to comply, a misconduct panel has heard.

The girl, known as Child Q, was strip-searched at her school by officers in Hackney, east London, on 3 December 2020 after her teachers wrongly suspected her of carrying cannabis.

This involved the removal of the 15-year-old’s clothing including underwear, her bending over and having to expose intimate parts of her body while she was menstruating, the panel has heard.

Trainee Det Con Kristina Linge, PC Victoria Wray and PC Rafal Szmydynski, who were all constables at the time, deny gross misconduct over their treatment of the girl.

On Thursday, Det Con Linge, who conducted the strip-search alongside PC Wray, told the misconduct panel in south-east London she informed Child Q she “might be arrested” when the girl asked what could happen if she refused to be searched – but claimed there had been “no threat of arrest”.

Elliot Gold, for the Independent Office for Police Conduct, asked: “Will you accept you were giving Child Q the option of being strip-searched or arrested?”

“There were no options given like that,” the officer replied.

“Do you accept that saying that to a 15-year-old might make them feel frightened?” Mr Gold said.

“Yes,” Det Con Linge responded.

The panel heard that when asked previously what the officer had proposed to do if she found cannabis on Child Q, Det Con Linge had answered: “As per legislation, a juvenile found in possession must be arrested and brought to custody.”

Det Con Linge previously said Child Q had consented to the search, but admitted under cross-examination by Mr Gold that this was not accurate.

Det Con Linge joined the Met Police in 2018 and was still in her probationary period when the search took place.

The officer confirmed she had completed equality training, including on unconscious bias and discriminatory stereotypes, and said she was aware of stereotypes relating to black people.

She told the hearing she did not “see the relevance” of the fact Child Q was being questioned by two white police officers.

Mr Gold asked whether she would accept that “a stereotype of black people is they may more likely be stopped and searched” and if she would accept that they are more likely to be “in receipt of use of force by police”.

Det Con Linge replied “no” to both questions.

The 46-year-old agreed there was no adult present in the room where the search happened who could have offered the child advice, assisted her in communication with police or ensured her rights were respected.

Det Con Linge also denied she “did not recognise Child Q as a child” and was, in effect, “treating her as older than she was”.

The hearing continues.