Latest news with #PCWray
BBC News
6 days ago
- BBC News
Child Q Met Police officer followed lead on strip-search, panel told
A Metropolitan Police officer who strip-searched a 15-year-old black schoolgirl has told a misconduct panel she had been "following the lead of other officers".The girl, known as Child Q, was strip-searched at her school by PC Victoria Wray and a female colleague in Hackney, east London, on 3 December 2020 after her teachers wrongly suspected her of carrying search involved her removing all of her clothing and exposing intimate parts while she was menstruating, the panel has been told. PC Wray apologised to Child Q and her family for the search but had thought she was "doing the right thing". She and two other officers deny gross misconduct over their treatment of the girl. Giving evidence to the misconduct panel, PC Wray, who undertook the search alongside PC Kristina Linge, admitted a series of failings in her handling of the Morris, representing her, asked: "Do you think you were performing an overly intrusive search?""I thought the skipper had authorised it, I thought the officers at the scene had covered all bases," she whether she was aware of certain stereotypes relating to black people, PC Wray replied: "If I am aware of the stereotypes, I don't use those stereotypes to make any decisions."Those decisions are purely based on facts, on my surroundings, on the intel; I prefer to make very objective decisions." 'Such a quick interaction' The panel heard records showed the majority of the individuals stopped and searched by PC Wray were black or Morris continued: "Do you think your actions have been unconsciously biased by race?""No, not at all," she if she thought the search should have taken place at all, PC Wray responded: "No.""There were so many things that should've been done," she told the panel. "We should've spoken to the teachers more, we should've phoned mum, we should've spoken to the sergeant more."Mr Morris went on to ask why she did not stop to do those things and reassess the situation, to which PC Wray replied: "I was just following the lead of other officers."It was just such a quick interaction; I am sorry and I should've stopped and I should've thought and I should've checked, I am really sorry," she added. The officer, who was 25 at the time of the incident, said of the search: "I never intended it to be humiliating and degrading."The hearing continues.
ITV News
6 days ago
- ITV News
Officer involved in strip search of Child Q says search 'should have never happened'
One of the police officers involved in the in the strip search of a child while on her period, has told a misconduct hearing that search "should have never happened" and that she is "very sorry for the distressed caused." Speaking at the hearing on Monday 16 June, PC Wray, was questioned about the training she had received in regards to police searches. She told the panel that she had received training on police stop and search. Though this included how to conduct a strip search, this itself was not practical. During this line of questioning it was revealed that PC Wray had never completed her Search Powers and Procedures Course, which covers the legal framework for police searches. When asked why this course hadn't been completed, PC Wray told the panel: 'I was never made aware that I missed that course'. She went on to tell the panel that she'd never received any training on what to do if someone you are searching is menstruating - as was the case for Child Q. PC Wray also told the panel that there was no training on how to minimise the embarrassment nor was she provided any training on how to search children. Concluding her response to training, PC Wray told the panel that prior to searching Child Q, she had not familiarised herself on how stop and search policies had changed; nor had she read the full guidance laid out in the Authorised Professional Practice - which is the official professional practice for policing. The hearing heard that on the day of Child Q's search, PC Wray was on shift at a response officer when she received a radio call for a 'female officer to assist with a search'. PC Wray told the hearing that she understood that to mean a strip search was going to be taking place. Prior to this, she had never attended a school but had carried out two strip searches - both of which were in a custody cell, none of which involved a child. She arrived at Child Q's school at around 11am and was taken to the room where the child was. PC Wray told the panel that she believed this to be a 'very serious incident' and that she had smelt cannabis when she entered the school's medical room. One of the requirements for a strip search is authorisation from a officer with the rank of sergeant or higher. However, the hearing today heard no such authorisation was given for the search of Child Q. PC Wray accepted that she should've checked if the search was authorised and believed that it had been authorised prior to her arrival. When asked about Child Q's behaviour prior to the removal of her clothes, she said the student appeared 'completely calm' and 'answered all the questions directed at her.' Rules also require an appropriate adult to be present during this kind of search - this was not the case for Child Q's Wray said that she assumed Child Q's PE teacher was the designated appropriate adult - even though she was not in the room while the search was taking place. PC Wray's evidence was followed by a series of apologies. She told the panel that the strip search of Child Q "should have never happened" and that "she should have spoken to a sergeant", and "phoned Child Q's mother". She said she never intended the for the search to be "degrading" or "humiliating". With tears in her eyes she said unconscious bias played no part in her decision to proceed with the search of Child Q. When asked why no notes or records were made about her involvement in the search, she told the panel that she 'didn't know' she had to make a record of it in her pocket book - despite Metropolitan Police policy requiring a contemporaneous record being made in the event of a strip search. PC Wray marks the last witness in this case. The panel will now decide whether she and her other colleagues involved in the search - detective constable Kristina Linge, PC Victoria Wray and PC Rafal Szmydynski - committed gross misconduct and whether they should remain officers in the Metropolitan Police Service.
BBC News
12-06-2025
- BBC News
Child Q told she ‘might be arrested' during strip-search incident
A black schoolgirl who was strip-searched by Metropolitan Police officers was told she "might be arrested" if she refused to comply, a misconduct panel has girl, known as Child Q, was strip-searched at her school by officers in Hackney, east London, on 3 December 2020 after her teachers wrongly suspected her of carrying involved the removal of the 15-year-old's clothing including underwear, her bending over and having to expose intimate parts of her body while she was menstruating, the panel has Det Con Kristina Linge, PC Victoria Wray and PC Rafal Szmydynski, who were all constables at the time, deny gross misconduct over their treatment of the girl. 'Frightened?' On Thursday, Det Con Linge, who conducted the strip-search alongside PC Wray, told the misconduct panel in south-east London she informed Child Q she "might be arrested" when the girl asked what could happen if she refused to be searched - but claimed there had been "no threat of arrest".Elliot Gold, for the Independent Office for Police Conduct, asked: "Will you accept you were giving Child Q the option of being strip-searched or arrested?" "There were no options given like that," the officer replied."Do you accept that saying that to a 15-year-old might make them feel frightened?" Mr Gold said."Yes," Det Con Linge panel heard that when asked previously what the officer had proposed to do if she found cannabis on Child Q, Det Con Linge had answered: "As per legislation, a juvenile found in possession must be arrested and brought to custody."Det Con Linge previously said Child Q had consented to the search, but admitted under cross-examination by Mr Gold that this was not accurate. Det Con Linge joined the Met Police in 2018 and was still in her probationary period when the search took officer confirmed she had completed equality training, including on unconscious bias and discriminatory stereotypes, and said she was aware of stereotypes relating to black told the hearing she did not "see the relevance" of the fact Child Q was being questioned by two white police Gold asked whether she would accept that "a stereotype of black people is they may more likely be stopped and searched" and if she would accept that they are more likely to be "in receipt of use of force by police".Det Con Linge replied "no" to both 46-year-old agreed there was no adult present in the room where the search happened who could have offered the child advice, assisted her in communication with police or ensured her rights were Con Linge also denied she "did not recognise Child Q as a child" and was, in effect, "treating her as older than she was".The hearing continues.
BBC News
11-06-2025
- BBC News
Child Q: Met Police officer accepts failures in duty
A police officer accused of carrying out an unjustified strip-search on a 15-year-old black girl at an east London school has said she accepts she failed in her duties and the search should never have girl, known as Child Q, was wrongly suspected of carrying cannabis and forced to expose her intimate parts at her school in Hackney in December drugs were found and a further search of her hair was also carried out by officers which led to the same Det Con Kristina Linge, one of the female officers who carried out the strip-search, told a gross misconduct hearing she had "absolutely" acted in good faith but accepted causing upset, for which she apologised. 'Avoid embarrassment' When asked if she would have done anything differently had Child Q been white, 46-year-old Det Con Linge answered "no".Two other officers, PC Victoria Wray and PC Rafal Szmydynski, are also accused of breaching professional police standards after allegedly being involved in an "unjustified", "disproportionate" and "demeaning" three officers deny gross admitting a number failures that day, Det Con Linge told the panel she had tried to make Child Q "as comfortable as possible"."I understood that she is a juvenile, I took all the precautions to avoid embarrassment."Det Con Linge joined the Met Police in 2018 and was still in her probationary period when the search took told the panel in south-east London that Child Q "did want her mum to be called or informed about the search" and that the school's deputy safeguarding manager acted as the appropriate adult, standing outside in the corridor while the search took Con Linge also said she thought police training on all levels of searches was not asked about conversations with staff at the school, after they failed to find drugs on the teenager, Det Con Linge said the head teacher "was adamant that the school girl had drugs and [was] compliant with the girl to be searched".The hearing continues.
BBC News
10-06-2025
- BBC News
Child Q: Met Police PC questions training for strip-searches
A Metropolitan police officer has told a misconduct panel that police training on conducting strip-searches in schools was "insufficient".Det Con Kristina Linge, PC Victoria Wray and PC Rafal Szmydynski all deny gross misconduct over their treatment of the girl known as Child Q in December 15-year-old was strip-searched at school by officers in Hackney, east London after she was wrongly suspected of carrying Rajon Rahman, who drove PC Wray to the school and remained outside the medical room while the girl was searched, told the independent panel on Tuesday that strip-searches were "covered very briefly" during training. PC Rahman said: "It was not gone into detail about it. There was mention of it, that it existed.""What I can say is the training or the learning in Hendon around that was insufficient in my opinion."The police training college for the Met is located in Hendon, north Rahman said that before the incident he had not attended a search at school before and had only been involved in "normal" searches, meaning of individuals on the street, and searches of a person in custody. The panel, being held in south-east London over three weeks, previously heard the girl was left feeling "demeaned" and "physically violated" by the is alleged that the strip search was carried out without authorisation, in the absence of an appropriate adult, and with no adequate concern being given to Child Q's age, sex, or the need to treat her as a child, and that the child's race was an effective Yard has previously apologised over the misconduct hearing continues.
