The other side to strip searches-is society failing our youth?

Much talked about data has shown that 650 children were strip searched by Metropolitan Police officers over a two year period. The children’s commissioner for England Dame Rachel de Sousa has gone on record to denounce the strip searches and stating that she was not convinced the Met was consistently considering children’s welfare and wellbeing. This comes after reports that 23% of the searches did not have an appropriate adult present.

Strip searches must have appropriate adults for children, something I’m sure we all agree on. Any parent out there would definitely want to know that if their child was going to be strip searched. We also agree that this can be a very impacting event for a child.

Yet, there is also another side to this story that has so far gone unspoken about. In a matter of weeks, a case begins in court where a teenager brutally murdered another teenager. The victim was 18 years old and was stabbed a total of 24 times in what can only be described as a frenzied attack by a person he did not know. His knife wielding killer was indeed just 15 years old.

This incident has destroyed a family like most murders do. A family that will never recover from their son’s death as this mother we know, will not and is severely struggling at the moment at the loss of her only son and the horrific way his life was taken from him.

The actions of this 15 year old child who went out armed with a knife, will stay with this mother and her family permanently.

Knife crime is spiralling out of control on our streets and our stark reality is that it is more shocking to hear of day when there have been no incidents than a day when multiple incidents have taken place.

Speaking to youths on our streets the reasons for going out with armed with a knife are vast and sadly will continue to be as such until our society changes. Parents recently had frank discussions at an open forum with youths to find out why they carry knives and just how tough it is on the streets of London, most youths were fully aware of police stop and searches and their reply was, ‘we just find better ways to hide them’.

Hospitals treating stab wounds are a daily practice. Children carrying knives are a daily practice. Police responding to stabbings are a daily practice.

For new recruits joining the capital’s police force, stabbings are now something they sadly deal with as a matter of routine, like answering calls to those who need mental health support.

Whilst the idea of a strip search for a minor is awful, the news that a 15 year old brutally stabbed another teenager 24 times without even know who he was is also awful.

Our society is starved of funds in crucial places such as facilities for our youths, vital support for them and specifically for their mental health. Racial inequality needs to be urgently addressed and is crucial in the fight against knife crime. Our youths need our help and are crying out for our support and society is failing them badly.

Our Met police officers continue to come under repeated fire and there is never a day that goes by that they do not make the headlines. Their role is probably one of the toughest jobs a person can do in our community.

When looking at strip searches for children-let’s take the wider picture into consideration and look at the many factors involved.

The fight against knife crime needs to be tackled and not just by community groups and individuals who do a fantastic job working with our youths daily. It needs to be tackled nationally, just shoving money here and there isn’t working, it needs to be addressed from the roots.

Our youths are desperate for help and society is failing them and blaming the police as always.