Parents and guardians will need to be informed when their child is strip searched by the police, under new government plans set out today.
The government is proposing a number of measures to strengthen protections in place for children and vulnerable people subject to a strip search that involves the exposure of intimate parts prior to arrest, as well as following detention.
The changes to the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) Codes of Practice A and C, which the government is seeking views on, include proposals that would require a senior officer, of the rank of inspector or above, to authorise any search of a child or vulnerable person is strip searched. This will apply to stop and search and searches in custody.
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The targeted consultation will run for six weeks with law enforcement, children’s services and practitioners invited to share their views on the proposals. The government will publish its response later this year.
