A video of a young Black boy being handcuffed by a Metropolitan Police officer in East London has sparked concerns about adultification bias in policing. The child, believed to be no older than 10 or 11, was forced to lie face down and handcuffed, despite being found entirely innocent.
Incident details
The boy was among a group of children who had been play-fighting. Witnesses said the group dispersed when officers approached. The boy was detained and handcuffed, with an officer telling him, "You're not being arrested, you're being detained." The child pleaded, "What have I done? Why am I being arrested?"
A white passer-by intervened, repeatedly telling the officer, "Be gentle with him, he's a child." He calmed the boy and stayed to act in loco parentis. The Met Police later said officers had spotted "a group fighting" and that "from a distance it was not possible to tell how old they were." They added that the group ran and discarded items, including a balaclava, and that officers pursued two of them.
Adultification bias in policing
Adultification bias is the practice of treating young people as adults, disproportionately affecting Black children who are perceived as less vulnerable and more culpable than their white peers. Statistics show Black children are up to eight times more likely to be strip-searched and face higher rates of stop-and-search.
The Met Police stated the stop and search was "done respectfully" and that "no offences were identified." However, critics argue that handcuffing a child unnecessarily is humiliating and dehumanising, and that the lasting effects on Black children's self-esteem, mental health, and dignity matter.
