Police left a 16-year-old girl naked in a cell after she threatened to self-harm - and her complaint

A 16-year-old girl was stripped of her clothes and left naked in a jail cell when she threatened to harm herself while in custody, a police inspection report has revealed.

Officers at Skegness Police Station forced the teenager to wait in the nude for ten minutes after removing her clothing and underwear.

They claim to have been taking preventative action after the girl said she was going to self-harm.

A 16-year-old girl was stripped of her clothes and left naked in a jail cell when she threatened to harm herself while in custody, a police inspection report has revealed. Officers at Skegness Police Station (pictured) forced the teenager to wait in the nude for ten minutes after removing her clothing and underwear

She was eventually given an 'anti-rip suit' - but only after one male officer pushed her twice while she stood undressed.

When the girl complained about being 'violated' the next day, officers refused to follow it up.

Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) reviewed CCTV of the incident and have since blasted Lincolnshire Police for the way it was handled.

In a custody inspection report, HMIC concluded officers were 'too ready to remove clothing...with too little consideration for dignity.'

It reads: 'She threatened self-harm and firstly had her bra removed by two female staff, who returned shortly afterwards with an anti-rip suit. Staff appeared to spend some time negotiating with the girl before she was restrained; staff then left the cell, inexplicably, taking the anti-rip suit with them, leaving the girl naked in her cell for a period of around 10 minutes.

'At this point, the top half of the anti-rip suit was posted through the cell hatch, followed by the lower half about 10 minutes later. Her behaviour was challenging and resulted in a male officer pushing her twice while she was naked.

The teenager was eventually given an 'anti-rip suit' - but only after one male officer pushed her twice while she stood undressed. When she complained about being 'violated' the next day, officers refused to follow it up

'The vulnerability of this girl in police custody was compounded by her being left naked in a cell. Not enough was done to maintain her dignity.

'The next day, the girl complained to the sergeant that she had been "violated".

'The force did not refer this matter to the local authority to scrutinise the overall care and treatment of this girl independently as they did not regard this as necessary, and her complaint was not taken.'

The report concluded that the case was 'unacceptable and demeaning' - with inspectors admitting they 'were not satisfied' that measures were now in place to prevent similar instances taking place in the future.

Also mentioned in the joint inspection custody report - which examined procedures at Lincoln, Grantham, Boston and Skegness - was an incident involving another detainee.

In that instance, the person in custody was left in their cell for a prolonged period wearing only his underwear.

Responding to the criticism, Lincolnshire Police Deputy Chief Constable Heather Roach said: 'The fact of this case is that the custody officers were concerned that she would harm herself and decided that she needed to be given an anti-rip suit. Due to the first suit being the wrong size, another was produced within minutes.

'The way the report is worded implies that we were neglectful and I reject that contention. We were particularly concerned for her safety and mental state.'