Black Londoners nearly three times more likely to be strip searched than white suspects

"Between January and August 322 black adults were given strip searches compared with 113 white adults, according to analysis by The Times. No illegal items were recovered in almost half of cases involving black people. The success rate was much higher among white people with officers 11 per cent more likely to find drugs during their searches, the newspaper said."

"Strip searches, officially termed more thorough searches intimate parts exposed, involve the removal of clothing beyond outer layers and the exposure of intimate parts of the body. Guidance states the procedure should only be used when it is reasonable to believe that an individual is concealing an illegal item and a search is necessary and proportionate. The Metropolitan Police says the tactic remains vital in combatting violent crime, helping to seize about 300 weapons each month."

"But campaigners say the figures highlight discriminatory policing practices and reinforce Baroness Casey's 2023 review which concluded that Britain's largest police force was institutionally racist, misogynistic and homophobic. Habib Kadiri, executive director of StopWatch, a campaign group, said: It seems as though police operations are geared towards an implicit assumption that if you strip search a black person in London then you are more likely to find something on them."

Between January and August, 322 black adults were strip-searched compared with 113 white adults. No illegal items were recovered in almost half of searches involving black people, while officers were 11 per cent more likely to find drugs when searching white people. Strip searches involve removing clothing beyond outer layers and exposing intimate parts; guidance restricts their use to situations with reasonable belief of concealed illegal items and when searches are necessary and proportionate. The Metropolitan Police reports that strip searches help seize about 300 weapons monthly and are used to combat violent crime. Campaign groups describe the pattern as discriminatory and say it echoes a 2023 review finding institutional racism, misogyny and homophobia in the force. The practice has faced scrutiny since a 2020 case in which a 15-year-old black girl was strip-searched at school after being wrongly suspected of carrying cannabis.

Read at www.standard.co.uk