IPCC serves misconduct notices as investigation into complaints about strip search of 15 year old boy continues
4 Jun 2014 03:27 PM
IPCC investigators have
served two misconduct notices on officers from North Wales Police as part of an
ongoing investigation into complaints about the strip search
of a 15 year old boy.
The boy, along with four other
youths, was detained and searched by police in Llandudno on 29 May 2012 under
the Misuse of Drugs Act. Four of the youths, including the boy, were taken to
Llandudno police station where a strip search took place. All four were
eventually released without any further action.
The IPCC began
an independent investigation after it upheld two
appeals from the boy's father who had complained to North Wales Police
about his son's treatment.
Interviews with the officers
will take place in the near future.
The
IPCC investigation is examining the use of police powers
during the stopping and subsequent detention of the boy, the procedure followed
during the strip search, and whether it complied with code C of the Police and
Criminal Evidence Act.
Complaints that the boy's
father was not given the opportunity to be present during the strip search, and
that no appropriate adult was present are also being
investigated.
The IPCC has now determined that
a review of the two previous force investigations into the complaints will not
form part of the independent investigation. IPCC
Commissioner Jan Williams is satisfied that those investigations can be
considered as part of the IPCC’s regular oversight work with the North
Wales Police professional standards department.