Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how ethnicity will be disaggregated in reporting on the (a) detention and (b) strip and intimate search of children in police custody in the next publication of the police powers and procedures statistical data.

For the first time, information on the ethnicity of children detained in custody or subjected to strip searches or intimate searches whilst in police custody, is being collected by the Home Office.

For detentions and strip searches, ethnicity data has been collected at the 18+1 level, in line with the 2011 Census, and will be published with that full detail.

For intimate searches, ethnicity data has been collected and will be published at aggregated group level only (white, black, Asian, mixed or other).

Strip search and intimate search are two of the most intrusive powers available to the police. There will be times when its use is necessary, to prevent or detect crime or protect the individual or officers. However, it must be used in accordance with the law and with full regard for the welfare and dignity of the individual being searched, particularly if that individual is a child.

Data have not been received from all forces, but data that have been collected are scheduled for publication on 17 November 2022 in the ‘Police Powers and Procedures’ statistical publication: Police powers and procedures: Other PACE powers, England and Wales, year ending 31 March 2022 - National statistics announcement - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).