Latest news with #RafalSzmydynski
Daily Mail
10-07-2025
- Daily Mail
Met police officers who strip-searched black schoolgirl, 15, while she was on her period are guilty of gross misconduct
Two Metropolitan Police officers who strip-searched a 15-year-old black schoolgirl while she was on her period have been found guilty of gross misconduct. The incident, which took place at a school in Hackney, east London, in 2020, saw the girl, known as Child Q, searched by officers who believed she was carrying cannabis. A misconduct panel concluded that the strip search, which involved the exposure of her intimate parts, was 'disproportionate, inappropriate and unnecessary.' No drugs were found on the child. The hearing also heard how the ordeal left the schoolgirl feeling 'humiliated' and 'degraded.' Trainee Detective Constable Kristina Linge and Police Constable Rafal Szmydynski were criticised for their handling of the situation and now could face being sacked from the force. It was concluded that they failed to ensure that an appropriate adult was present during the strip search - as is required when a minor is involved - and for not seeking senior officer authorisation beforehand. They also failed to provide the girl with a copy of the search record, in direct breach of police policy and training. The misconduct panel concluded the officers did not respect the girl's rights as a child and failed to give her the protection she was entitled to under the law. A third officer, PC Victoria Wray, was also found to have committed misconduct for not questioning whether the search was proportionate or checking whether it had been properly authorised. She too breached police standards relating to duties and responsibilities, authority, respect and courtesy, and following orders and instructions. However, the panel did not find that any of the officers had breached standards relating to equality and diversity, or honesty and integrity. Crucially, it concluded there was no evidence that race was a factor in their decisions, nor that the girl had been 'adultified.' The four-week disciplinary hearing was led by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) and chaired by Met Commander Jason Prins. In 2022 the incident sparked protests on the streets where they were heard chanting 'no justice, no peace, abolish the police' and 'racist cops, out of schools'. They also held up signs reading 'no to racist police, justice for Child Q' and 'we say no to police in schools', as well as Black Lives Matter banners. They also chanted 'shame on you' at officers outside the station, footage on social media showed. A protester from Catcalls of London, an Instagram-based awareness group, wrote messages in multi-coloured chalk on the pavement, with one reading: 'Dearest Child Q, the systems designed to protect you failed you. 'We see you. We stand here for you. We are with you.' Commander Kevin Southworth said: 'The experience of Child Q should never have happened and was truly regrettable. 'We have sincerely apologised to Child Q since this incident happened. Again, I am deeply sorry to Child Q and her family for the trauma that we caused her, and the damage this incident caused to the trust and confidence black communities across London have in our officers. 'While the officers involved did not act correctly, we acknowledge there were organisational failings. Training to our officers around strip search and the type of search carried out on Child Q was inadequate, and our oversight of the power was also severely lacking. 'This left officers, often young in service or junior in rank, making difficult decisions in complex situations with little information, support or clear resources to help their decision-making. 'What happened to Child Q was a catalyst for change both for the Met and for policing nationally. 'While we should not have needed an incident such as Child Q to check our approach, it has absolutely led us to improving our processes and significantly reducing the number of these types of searches carried out. 'It's crucial we get this right to ensure the impact on young people is minimised as far as possible. 'Sadly, we know there are children in London being exploited to carry drugs and weapons for others as well as involved in criminality, so these types of searches have to remain within police powers. The work we have done since Child Q means we now have the right safeguards in place.'
Malay Mail
27-06-2025
- Malay Mail
UK police officers sacked for ‘humiliating' strip search of 15-year-old schoolgirl
LONDON, June 27 — Two UK police officers were dismissed on Thursday after a disciplinary hearing ruled they had committed gross misconduct during the 'humiliating' strip search of a 15-year-old schoolgirl wrongly suspected of possessing cannabis. Officers searched 'Child Q' at her school in Hackney, east London, in December 2020, after teachers suspected her of carrying cannabis. She was made to remove her underwear and expose intimate body parts while on her period, the four-week hearing was told. Commander Jason Prins, chairman of the misconduct panel, said race was not a factor in the way Child Q, who is black, was treated. But the disciplinary hearing found that officers Kristina Linge and Rafal Szmydynski had committed gross misconduct, while fellow officer Victoria Wray's actions amounted to misconduct. Linge and Szmydynski were both dismissed while the panel gave Wray a final written warning. The hearing was earlier told that an appropriate adult was not present during the search and her mother was not informed. The search was 'humiliating... disproportionate, inappropriate and unnecessary', leaving her feeling 'degraded,' Prins said. Child Q did not give evidence due to the 'psychological effects that this strip search has had on her', the panel heard. Following public condemnation of the incident, the UK government announced new rules in 2024 that would require parents and guardians to be informed when their child is strip searched by police. — AFP
Daily Mail
26-06-2025
- Daily Mail
Met Police officers who strip-searched a black schoolgirl, 15, while she was on her period are SACKED
Two Metropolitan Police officers who strip-searched a 15-year-old black schoolgirl while she was on her period have been sacked for gross misconduct. The girl, known as Child Q, was searched at a school in Hackney, east London on December 3, 2020, by officers after she was wrongly suspected of carrying cannabis. The 'traumatic' police search involved the removal of Child Q's clothing, including her underwear, her bending over and having to expose intimate parts of her body, the police disciplinary panel heard Authorisation was not sought for the intimate search, which left the teenager feeling 'demeaned' and 'physically violated', while no appropriate adult was present. Child Q's mother was also not informed of the situation. The misconduct panel concluded that the strip search was 'disproportionate, inappropriate and unnecessary', while also adding the incident had caused 'enormous harm' to the child as well as 'significant harm to the community in trusting the police'. Earlier today, the panel ruled the actions of Trainee Detective Constable Kristina Linge and Police Constable Rafal Szmydynski amounted to gross misconduct and they were dismissed without notice. It was concluded that they failed to ensure that an appropriate adult was present during the strip search - as is required when a minor is involved - and for not seeking senior officer authorisation beforehand. They also failed to provide the girl with a copy of the search record, in direct breach of police policy and training. The misconduct panel concluded the officers did not respect the girl's rights as a child and failed to give her the protection she was entitled to under the law. A third officer, PC Victoria Wray, who was a probationary officer at the time and had arrived after key decisions had been made, was also found to have committed misconduct. The panel concluded she failed to question whether the search was proportionate or to check if it had been properly authorised. She too breached police standards relating to duties and responsibilities, authority, respect and courtesy, and following orders and instructions. She was given a final written warning. However, the panel did not find that any of the officers had breached standards relating to equality and diversity, or honesty and integrity. The four-week disciplinary hearing was led by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) and chaired by Met Commander Jason Prins. Panel chairman Commander Jason Prins said: 'There has been enormous harm to Child Q and significant harm to the community in trusting the police.' He added 'this is a very high harm case' and given the 'extremely serious findings' made by the panel 'the only appropriate outcome is dismissal without notice'. And while he described the incident as 'a disastrous and negative interaction' between police and a black teenager, he said race had not been the reason why Child Q was treated so badly. Commander Prins added it was 'a case where officers adopted a simplistic approach' to a sensitive matter and they did not follow the training they were given. Authorisation was not sought and the situation 'cried out for advice and input', he added. Child Q did not give evidence at the four-week hearing 'because of the psychological effects that this strip search has had on her', the panel heard. In 2022 the incident sparked protests on the streets where they were heard chanting 'no justice, no peace, abolish the police' and 'racist cops, out of schools'. They also held up signs reading 'no to racist police, justice for Child Q' and 'we say no to police in schools', as well as Black Lives Matter banners. Demonstrators were captured on video, later shared to social media, chanting 'shame on you' at officers outside the station. A protester from Catcalls of London, an Instagram-based awareness group, wrote messages in multi-coloured chalk on the pavement, with one reading: 'Dearest Child Q, the systems designed to protect you failed you. 'We see you. We stand here for you. We are with you.' Commander Kevin Southworth said: 'The experience of Child Q should never have happened and was truly regrettable. 'We have sincerely apologised to Child Q since this incident happened. Again, I am deeply sorry to Child Q and her family for the trauma that we caused her, and the damage this incident caused to the trust and confidence black communities across London have in our officers. 'While the officers involved did not act correctly, we acknowledge there were organisational failings. Training to our officers around strip search and the type of search carried out on Child Q was inadequate, and our oversight of the power was also severely lacking. 'This left officers, often young in service or junior in rank, making difficult decisions in complex situations with little information, support or clear resources to help their decision-making. 'What happened to Child Q was a catalyst for change both for the Met and for policing nationally. 'While we should not have needed an incident such as Child Q to check our approach, it has absolutely led us to improving our processes and significantly reducing the number of these types of searches carried out. 'It's crucial we get this right to ensure the impact on young people is minimised as far as possible. 'Sadly, we know there are children in London being exploited to carry drugs and weapons for others as well as involved in criminality, so these types of searches have to remain within police powers. The work we have done since Child Q means we now have the right safeguards in place.'
Telegraph
26-06-2025
- Telegraph
Officers who strip-searched black girl at school face sack
Two Metropolitan Police officers who carried out a strip search on a black schoolgirl have been sacked after they were found guilty of gross misconduct by a disciplinary panel. The girl, known only as Child Q, was forced to undergo an intimate search while on her period, after police attending her school in east London wrongly suspected her of carrying cannabis. She had arrived at school on Dec 3 2020 to take a mock exam when she was stopped by the officers and told she would be arrested if she did not comply. Officers failed to inform her mother or ask an appropriate adult to be present before removing items of the girl's underwear and forcing her to bend over for the search. When no drugs were found during the strip search, her hair was also scoured. A disciplinary panel found the actions of the three female officers to be 'disproportionate, inappropriate and unnecessary', and had been ' humiliating for the child and made her feel degraded'. But they concluded race had not been a factor in the way Child Q was treated or that the teenager had been 'adultified'. Trainee detective Kristina Linge and constable Rafal Szmydynski have now been dismissed after they were found to have committed gross misconduct, while their colleague, constable Victoria Wray had a misconduct charge against her proven. 'Truly regrettable' Pc Szmydynski was 39 and had more than 13 years policing experience at the time of the search, after becoming a police community support officer in 2007 and a constable in November 2014. Pc Linge was 41 and had joined the force in August 2018. Pc Wray was a 24-year-old probationary officer at the time of the search. The university graduate had jobs in college auditing and with cancer research before she joined the force. Following the panel's findings, Commander Kevin Southworth from Scotland Yard, said: 'The experience of Child Q should never have happened and was truly regrettable. 'We have sincerely apologised to Child Q since this incident happened. Again, I am deeply sorry to Child Q and her family for the trauma that we caused her, and the damage this incident caused to the trust and confidence black communities across London have in our officers. He said there had been organisational failings, and training around strip searches had been inadequate. He added: 'What happened to Child Q was a catalyst for change both for the Met and for policing nationally.' 'Completely disproportionate' Police were called to the school in Hackney by staff who claimed the girl smelled strongly of cannabis and may have been in possession of drugs. After an initial search two female officers conducted a more intimate examination in a medical room at the school. No drugs were found and the Met voluntarily referred the matter to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) in May 2021. Amanda Rowe, the IOPC director, said the officers had failed to protect a child in a vulnerable position. She went on: 'Their decision to strip search a 15-year-old at school on suspicion of a small amount of cannabis was completely disproportionate. They failed to follow the policies that exist to ensure that children in these situations have appropriate protective measures in place.'
Daily Mail
26-06-2025
- Daily Mail
BREAKING NEWS Met police officers who strip-searched black schoolgirl, 15, while she was on her period are guilty of gross misconduct
Two Metropolitan Police officers committed gross misconduct during the 'disproportionate' and 'humiliating' strip search of a 15-year-old black girl. A disciplinary hearing found that trainee Detective Constable Kristina Linge, PC Victoria Wray and PC Rafal Szmydynski were guilty of gross misconduct after they had wrongly suspected the girl of carrying cannabis. However the hearing did not find that the officers were influenced by the child's race, nor that was she subject to adultification. Commander Kevin Southworth said: 'The experience of Child Q should never have happened and was truly regrettable. 'We have sincerely apologised to Child Q since this incident happened. Again, I am deeply sorry to Child Q and her family for the trauma that we caused her, and the damage this incident caused to the trust and confidence Black communities across London have in our officers. 'While the officers involved did not act correctly, we acknowledge there were organisational failings. Training to our officers around strip search and the type of search carried out on Child Q was inadequate, and our oversight of the power was also severely lacking. 'This left officers, often young in service or junior in rank, making difficult decisions in complex situations with little information, support or clear resources to help their decision-making. 'What happened to Child Q was a catalyst for change both for the Met and for policing nationally. 'While we should not have needed an incident such as Child Q to check our approach, it has absolutely led us to improving our processes and significantly reducing the number of these types of searches carried out. 'It's crucial we get this right to ensure the impact on young people is minimised as far as possible. 'Sadly, we know there are children in London being exploited to carry drugs and weapons for others as well as involved in criminality, so these types of searches have to remain within police powers. The work we have done since Child Q means we now have the right safeguards in place.'
