Experts slam stop and search of under-10s

Sandra Shepherd's son Jadan was stopped and searched in Lambeth earlier this month while sitting on a wall with his older brother and friends. She has now lodged a complaint with the police.

Penny Nicholls, director for children and young people at The Children's Society, said: "Under criminal justice legislation, stop and search has to be linked to probable cause and there has to be reasonable justification for it taking place. I wonder what justifies stopping under-10s. We know they find stop and search frightening and that it alienates them."

Corinna Ferguson, legal officer at Liberty, agreed that the experience of stop and search could be particularly frightening for children.

 "There should hardly ever be a need to use coercive police powers on someone who has not even reached the age of criminal responsibility," she said.

"If it is absolutely essential to search a child under 10 for their own safety, then it should be done sensitively and in the presence of a responsible adult - and, most importantly, it must be made clear to the child that they have not done anything wrong."

Superintendent David Musker of Lambeth Police confirmed that the incident had been reported to the Directorate of Professional Standards to be investigated, but said he was unable to comment at this stage.

He added: "I would like to reassure the communities of Lambeth that the Metropolitan Police Service takes all complaints seriously and will rigorously investigate any allegations."

 Nearly 2,000 under-10s were stopped and searched by the police in London last year, according to Metropolitan Police Association figures.

www.mpa.gov.uk/downloads/committees/cep/090521-04-appendix01.pdf