EIGHT METROPOLITAN Police officers are being investigated after a Black 16-year-old child was stopped and searched six times in five months.

The boy was stopped and searched six times by police between January and May 2023, while he was in Tottenham, north London, and Stratford, east London.

On each occasion, no further action was taken by officers. 

The complaints to the Met Police were made by the Haringey Independent Stop and Search Monitoring Group on behalf of the boy and his mother in April and June 2023.

The complaints include allegations that there were insufficient grounds for the stop and searches, racial profiling by the officers, force was unreasonably used, they failed to consider the boy’s welfare and policing procedures were not consistently followed. 

Four of the searches involved Territorial Support Group (TSG) officers while the other two incidents involved local borough command officers.

The Independent Office Police for Conduct (IOPC) said it launched an investigation after receiving a mandatory complaint referral from the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) in September 2023. 

The police watchdog added that various grounds were provided for the stop and search incidents including suspicion of drugs or theft, and the child reportedly matched descriptions of people carrying out robberies and knife crime in the area. 

Breaches

The IOPC have reviewed evidence including officers’ body worn video footage and written records made at the time of the grounds for each stop and search. 

In five of the six incidents, the police watchdog said it identified evidence which indicates potential breaches of the police standards of professional behaviour: equality and diversity; use of force; honesty and integrity; challenging and reporting improper conduct; discreditable conduct; orders and instructions; authority, respect and courtesy; and duties and responsibilities. 

As a result, seven MPS officers have recently been advised that they are under investigation for potential gross misconduct and an eighth officer is being investigated for potential misconduct. 

This does not necessarily mean that disciplinary proceedings will follow for the officers, the IOPC said.

IOPC director Charmaine Arbouin said: “The concerning allegations raised in the complaint – which include racial profiling of a child and insufficient grounds for stopping and searching them six times in five months – are issues that we know disproportionately affect Black and other minority ethnic communities and erode public confidence in policing. It’s therefore essential that we carry out an investigation – independent of the police – to look at each of these incidents and the actions and decision-making of the officers involved.

“At this stage, we have identified potential conduct issues for eight officers relating to five of these incidents. At the end of our investigation, we will make decisions on whether any of these officers should face disciplinary proceedings. 

“We will continue to keep those involved updated as our investigation progresses.”