15-Year-Old Black Schoolgirl Calls for Change After Trauma of Inappropriate Search

A 15-year-old black schoolgirl, known as Child Q, has spoken publicly for the first time about her traumatic strip-search by police, asking: “Why was it me?” The teenager was subjected to the invasive search in March 2022 at her school in Hackney, east London, while on her period, under suspicion of possessing cannabis. The incident sparked widespread outrage and protests, with concerns raised over safeguarding, racial discrimination, and the disproportionate treatment of black children by authorities.

In the wake of a new report on the case, Child Q expressed her ongoing confusion and pain. She said: “Things need to change. Even I can see that.” Former police chief Jim Gamble, who recently spoke with Child Q, praised her resilience but noted that the incident still weighs heavily on her. He explained: “She’s still asking herself, ‘Why was it me?’”

The updated review, led by Gamble, highlights deep concerns about systemic racism, safeguarding issues, and the disproportionate use of strip searches across public services. It also found that no further strip-searches of children have occurred in Hackney since the incident, but further reform is still necessary.

Gamble pointed out that the question of “Why me?” is central to understanding the racial disparities in the treatment of young people. He suggested that the incident might not have occurred had the child been white, saying, “Would this have happened if Child Q was a blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl in a south Kensington school?”

Following the report, the Independent Office for Police Conduct confirmed that four Metropolitan Police officers have been served with gross misconduct notices as part of an ongoing investigation into the inappropriate strip-search. Gamble’s review also revealed that many local children were not shocked by the search, with some seeing it as part of a pattern of unfair treatment of black children by police.

In response, Hackney’s leaders reiterated calls for the Met Police to recognise and address institutional racism. Mayor Philip Glanville, Deputy Mayor Anntoinette Bramble, and Cabinet Member Susan Fajana-Thomas stated: “Real and lasting progress will remain paralysed until this happens.”

While Detective Chief Superintendent James Conway, head of policing in Hackney and Tower Hamlets, apologised for the incident and acknowledged the overuse of strip-searches on children, he also pointed to the broader issue of young people being exploited to carry drugs and weapons. The Metropolitan Police cited alarming statistics about youth violence in London, including the stabbing of 57 children in the past five years, as a backdrop to the need for such searches.