mojatu.com
16 Community
ARE OUR KIDS VULNERABLE AT SCHOOL? By Tristan Best
How do we know our children are safe at schools? We don’t – the parents give the school their trust. And of course, the school’s policies all state that they ensure a safe environment for all. CHILD Q On one normal day at school during the exam season, a young black female of 15 years of age came into her exam allegedly smelling of cannabis, and without a second thought, the staff members of the Hackney Academy called the police. The police were then allowed into Hackney Academy’s site to perform a strip search and – still without any parents knowing what’s going on – the police themselves did not get permission from their hierarchy to do so. No guardians were alerted of this, which is breaking the law. The young girl, terrified of consequences, then allowed the officers to complete the search; but bearing this in mind, when conducting a search of someone under 18, PACE Code C says it must be done in the presence of an “appropriate adult” unless the child has expressly said they do not want that adult there and this has been documented. The attending police officers cannot act as an appropriate adult. During the search, the 15-year-old was even made to remove her sanitary pad, exposing her private area. How disgraceful! Regardless of your experience as an officer, you should know the child’s rights. How inhumane can you possibly be?
HOW WOULD YOU FEEL IF THIS WAS YOUR CHILD? That’s the question I would begin to ask, how could this possibly happen? I’m not sure – maybe a lack of care from the staff? Or was it just another show of discrimination upheld by the police force? Yes, they serve the people well, but on this day, they managed to jeopardise the trust and relationship between our youth, community, and the police force, yet again. The police force needs to make amends where they can. They need the trust of the people, especially to complete their work efficiently. Firstly, the forces alike need to change their approach towards young Black people. Excluding prejudice from their practice. Information came to light in 2020 in a safeguarding report. The information clearly states that racism was likely to have been an influencing factor. I know for a fact that every single school in the country should and will encourage diversity amongst students – the staff involved in the school environment should all have been background checked to ensure they were fit enough to deal with our future. Every student at Hackney Academy walked out of school to show a firm hand to modern discrimination of young people of ethnicity, and from the eyes and ears of many, this situation is rape. It’s a very hard thing to say out in the open. But as this is a minor being strip searched, to the fullest extent, surely this is a case of rape? The child did not know her rights, nor did she
