Strip search
Encyclopedia
A strip search is the stripping (removal of clothing
, search of persons
and/or personal effects) of a person to check for weapons or other contraband
.
Another legal issue is that of blanket strip searches, such as in jails where arrestees are routinely strip-searched prior to having been found guilty of any crime in a court of law. Courts have often held that blanket strip searches are acceptable only for persons found guilty of a crime. For arrestees pending trial, there must be a reasonable suspicion
that the arrestee is in possession of weapons or other contraband before a strip search can be conducted. The same often holds true for other situations such as airport security personnel and customs officers, but the dispute often hinges on what constitutes reasonable suspicion.
. For example, many homeless shelters require a mandatory shower (supervised) prior to entry. Most prisons also include a mandatory shower along with a change of clothes. The shower serves to make the strip search less blatant as well as providing the additional benefit of removing contamination (in addition to removing weapons or other contraband). Many shelters have a policy that upon check in all clothing should be collected from clients and cleaned, along with requiring each client to have a mandatory shower to "discreetly" check for weapons or other contraband. Thus bathing
often allows a similar outcome to a strip search with less legal liability, being less actionable when applied to everyone entering a facility, as well as being less offensive to clients than requiring them to undergo what is overtly presented as a strip search.
Security procedures at facilities that mine and process gold and other high value minerals may constitute an incidental strip search. At the end of the workday, miners must remove all work clothes before entering shower facility, then exit nude through a metal detector to a separate changeroom where street clothes are stored.
The courts have often held that requiring a person to have a shower as a condition of entry into a space (such as a prison, shelter, or the like) does not, in itself, constitute a strip search, even if the shower and surrounding space are so constructed as to afford visibility of the unclothed body by guards during the showering process.
Hospitals often also have a mandatory shower, during lockdown, when mass decontamination
is called for. Paul Rega, M.D., FACEP has specifically identified mass decontamination as providing the added benefit of checking for weapons or other contraband, as well as searching for clues among the clothes of persons found at a terrorist attack crime scene where it is recognized that the perpetrator(s) could be among the persons detained for decontamination.
If there is reason to suspect hidden objects, the person is then taken to a private room, which consists of:
machines, Millimeter wave scanner
s, T-ray scans
, and other modern technology provide the ability to see through clothing, to achieve a similar result to an actual strip search. This is known as a full-body scan or electronic strip search.
on behalf of Aaron B. Tobey. Tobey, a 21 year old architecture student, was arrested in March 2011 at the Richmond, Virginia
airport during a TSA
screening. The screening revealed a portion of the Fourth Amendment
to the US Constitution hand-written on his chest when he removed his T-shirt.
Four male teenage students were strip searched in Ansonia High School (Ansonia, Connecticut), and they are now suing the two teachers and principal who allegedly violated their rights.
The Beard v. Whitmore Lake School District (2005) case arose in Michigan when a student reported that $364 had been stolen from her gym bag during a physical education class. In response to the alleged theft, teachers searched the entire class of 20 boys and five girls in their respective locker rooms. Boys were required to undress down to their underwear. Similarly, girls were required to do so as well in front of each other. The alleged theft was reported to the local police who sent an officer who arrived mid-way through the search. Based on court records, the officer encouraged school personnel to continue the search. At the conclusion of the search, no money was found. A suit was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan on behalf of students impacted by the search claiming Fourth Amendment rights violations against unreasonable search and seizure and the Fourteenth Amendment rights violation involving an equal protection violation. The case was ultimately ruled on by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. The Sixth Circuit Court focused on several factors that made the strip search unreasonable. One, recovery of money was the primary basis for conducting the search, which did not, in the court's opinion, pose a health or safety threat. Secondly, the search did not involve one or two students but rather a large number of students who did not consent to the search. While the search was held to be unreasonable, the court stopped short of ruling that it was entirely unconstitutional based on prior law involving strip searches of students. Thirdly, school personnel had no reason to suspect any of the students individually. The court emphasized that school leaders have a real interest in maintaining an atmosphere free of theft but a search undertaken to find money serves a less weighty governmental interest than a search undertaken for items that pose a threat to the health and safety of students. Based on the court's position, clearly a search to recover money will not meet the court's expectation regarding the standards associated with a strip search.1
The case of a 13-year-old strip-searched in Arizona in 2003 has been taken up by the U.S. Supreme Court in Safford United School District No. 1 v. Redding (08-479).
Nudity
Nudity is the state of wearing no clothing. The wearing of clothing is exclusively a human characteristic. The amount of clothing worn depends on functional considerations and social considerations...
, search of persons
Search of persons
Police officers in various jurisdictions have power to search members of the public, for example, for weapons, drugs and stolen property. This article concerns searches of members of the public who have not been arrested and who are not held in detention. For search powers in relation to those...
and/or personal effects) of a person to check for weapons or other contraband
Contraband
The word contraband, reported in English since 1529, from Medieval French contrebande "a smuggling," denotes any item which, relating to its nature, is illegal to be possessed or sold....
.
Legality of strip searches
In North America, civil lawsuits, as well as criminal code changes against strip searches have usually been successful when a person is strip-searched by someone of the opposite sex, especially in cases where a woman has been strip-searched by a male guard or guards. The more disputed legal cases have often involved the presence of persons of the other gender during a strip search. Some of these cases have been less successful because of the legal technicality of who was actually performing the strip search, i.e. if multiple guards are present, the search is often (legally) said to be being performed by the person or persons giving the orders or instructions to the person or persons being searched.Another legal issue is that of blanket strip searches, such as in jails where arrestees are routinely strip-searched prior to having been found guilty of any crime in a court of law. Courts have often held that blanket strip searches are acceptable only for persons found guilty of a crime. For arrestees pending trial, there must be a reasonable suspicion
Reasonable suspicion
Reasonable suspicion is a legal standard of proof in United States law that is less than probable cause, the legal standard for arrests and warrants, but more than an "inchoate and unparticularized suspicion or 'hunch' ";...
that the arrestee is in possession of weapons or other contraband before a strip search can be conducted. The same often holds true for other situations such as airport security personnel and customs officers, but the dispute often hinges on what constitutes reasonable suspicion.
Incidental strip searches
In order to bypass the legal reasonable suspicion requirement, and because strip searches can be humiliating, the search is often made less overt, as part of an intake process, that includes a mandatory showerShower
A shower is an area in which one bathes underneath a spray of water.- History :...
. For example, many homeless shelters require a mandatory shower (supervised) prior to entry. Most prisons also include a mandatory shower along with a change of clothes. The shower serves to make the strip search less blatant as well as providing the additional benefit of removing contamination (in addition to removing weapons or other contraband). Many shelters have a policy that upon check in all clothing should be collected from clients and cleaned, along with requiring each client to have a mandatory shower to "discreetly" check for weapons or other contraband. Thus bathing
Bathing
Bathing is the washing or cleansing of the body in a fluid, usually water or an aqueous solution. It may be practised for personal hygiene, religious ritual or therapeutic purposes or as a recreational activity....
often allows a similar outcome to a strip search with less legal liability, being less actionable when applied to everyone entering a facility, as well as being less offensive to clients than requiring them to undergo what is overtly presented as a strip search.
Security procedures at facilities that mine and process gold and other high value minerals may constitute an incidental strip search. At the end of the workday, miners must remove all work clothes before entering shower facility, then exit nude through a metal detector to a separate changeroom where street clothes are stored.
The courts have often held that requiring a person to have a shower as a condition of entry into a space (such as a prison, shelter, or the like) does not, in itself, constitute a strip search, even if the shower and surrounding space are so constructed as to afford visibility of the unclothed body by guards during the showering process.
Hospitals often also have a mandatory shower, during lockdown, when mass decontamination
Mass decontamination
Mass decontamination is the decontamination of large numbers of people, in the event of industrial, accidental, or intentional contamination by toxic, infective, caustic, polluted, or otherwise unhealthful or damaging substances....
is called for. Paul Rega, M.D., FACEP has specifically identified mass decontamination as providing the added benefit of checking for weapons or other contraband, as well as searching for clues among the clothes of persons found at a terrorist attack crime scene where it is recognized that the perpetrator(s) could be among the persons detained for decontamination.
Partial strip searches
Partial strip searches are common at airports, for airport security, which often consists of:- removal of shoes and socks
- removal of coat and jacket;
- removal of belt;
- untucking of shirt.
If there is reason to suspect hidden objects, the person is then taken to a private room, which consists of:
- removal of shirt
- removal of trouses
- removal of underwear (boxersBoxer shortsBoxer shorts are a type of undergarment worn by men. The term has been used in English since 1944 for all-around-elastic shorts, so named after the shorts worn by boxers, for whom unhindered leg movement is very important.Reasons for a preference for boxers can be attributed to their variety of...
/briefsBriefsBriefs are a type of short, tight underwear and swimwear, as opposed to styles where the material extends down the legs.In the case of men's underwear, briefs, unlike boxer shorts, hold the wearer's genitals in a relatively fixed position, which make briefs a popular underwear choice for men who...
for men; braBrassiereA brassiere is an undergarment that covers, supports, and elevates the breasts. Since the late 19th century, it has replaced the corset as the most widely accepted method for supporting breasts....
/pantiesPantiesPanties are a form of underwear, usually light and snug-fitting, designed to be worn by women or girls in the area directly below the waist. Typical components include an elastic waistband, a crotch panel to cover the genital area , and a pair of leg openings which, like the waistband, are often...
for women)
Electronic strip searches
Backscatter X-rayBackscatter X-ray
Backscatter X-ray is an advanced X-ray imaging technology. Traditional X-ray machines detect hard and soft materials by the variation in transmission through the target. In contrast, backscatter X-ray detects the radiation that reflects from the target...
machines, Millimeter wave scanner
Millimeter wave scanner
A millimeter wave scanner is a whole–body imaging device used for detecting objects concealed underneath a person’s clothing. Typical uses for this technology include detection of items for commercial loss prevention, smuggling and screening at government buildings and airport security...
s, T-ray scans
Terahertz radiation
In physics, terahertz radiation refers to electromagnetic waves propagating at frequencies in the terahertz range. It is synonymously termed submillimeter radiation, terahertz waves, terahertz light, T-rays, T-waves, T-light, T-lux, THz...
, and other modern technology provide the ability to see through clothing, to achieve a similar result to an actual strip search. This is known as a full-body scan or electronic strip search.
Foster child strip searches
Foster children have sometimes been subjected to strip searches that require them to show their bare genitals to adults. The shelter care unit of the Macomb County Youth Home is one such place where children who have been removed from their parents due to abuse or neglect have been subjected to strip searches. During a strip search a child was required to be alone in a room with a staff member. The child was required to pull down their pants and bend over in front of the staff member so that the staff could view the child's bare genitals and anus. Children were also required to lift up their shirts and bras (if they wore them) and reveal their bare chests/breasts to the staff. Strip searches were sometimes performed in a group setting where the staff would strip search a number of children of the same sex at the same time in one room.Notable lawsuits
Tobey v. Napolitano is a suit filed by the Rutherford InstituteRutherford Institute
The Rutherford Institute is a non-profit group based in Charlottesville, Virginia dedicated to the defense of civil liberties, human rights, and religious liberty. It was founded in 1982 by John W. Whitehead...
on behalf of Aaron B. Tobey. Tobey, a 21 year old architecture student, was arrested in March 2011 at the Richmond, Virginia
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
airport during a TSA
TSA
TSA most often refers to:* Transportation Security Administration, in the United States Department of Homeland Security* Tourette Syndrome Association, advocacy organizationbut may also refer to:- Organizations :...
screening. The screening revealed a portion of the Fourth Amendment
Fourth Amendment
Fourth Amendment may refer to the:*Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution—part of the Bill of Rights, prohibiting unreasonable searches and seizures....
to the US Constitution hand-written on his chest when he removed his T-shirt.
Four male teenage students were strip searched in Ansonia High School (Ansonia, Connecticut), and they are now suing the two teachers and principal who allegedly violated their rights.
The Beard v. Whitmore Lake School District (2005) case arose in Michigan when a student reported that $364 had been stolen from her gym bag during a physical education class. In response to the alleged theft, teachers searched the entire class of 20 boys and five girls in their respective locker rooms. Boys were required to undress down to their underwear. Similarly, girls were required to do so as well in front of each other. The alleged theft was reported to the local police who sent an officer who arrived mid-way through the search. Based on court records, the officer encouraged school personnel to continue the search. At the conclusion of the search, no money was found. A suit was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan on behalf of students impacted by the search claiming Fourth Amendment rights violations against unreasonable search and seizure and the Fourteenth Amendment rights violation involving an equal protection violation. The case was ultimately ruled on by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. The Sixth Circuit Court focused on several factors that made the strip search unreasonable. One, recovery of money was the primary basis for conducting the search, which did not, in the court's opinion, pose a health or safety threat. Secondly, the search did not involve one or two students but rather a large number of students who did not consent to the search. While the search was held to be unreasonable, the court stopped short of ruling that it was entirely unconstitutional based on prior law involving strip searches of students. Thirdly, school personnel had no reason to suspect any of the students individually. The court emphasized that school leaders have a real interest in maintaining an atmosphere free of theft but a search undertaken to find money serves a less weighty governmental interest than a search undertaken for items that pose a threat to the health and safety of students. Based on the court's position, clearly a search to recover money will not meet the court's expectation regarding the standards associated with a strip search.1
The case of a 13-year-old strip-searched in Arizona in 2003 has been taken up by the U.S. Supreme Court in Safford United School District No. 1 v. Redding (08-479).
See also
- Aaron Tobey
- Body cavity searchBody cavity searchA body cavity search is either a visual search or a manual internal inspection of body cavities such as for prohibited material , such as illegal drugs, money, jewelry, or weapons...
- Don't touch my junkDon't touch my junk"Don't touch my junk" is a phrase that became popular in the United States in late 2010 as a criticism of Transportation Security Administration patdowns. The word "junk" is American English slang for a person's genitals...
- Search of personsSearch of personsPolice officers in various jurisdictions have power to search members of the public, for example, for weapons, drugs and stolen property. This article concerns searches of members of the public who have not been arrested and who are not held in detention. For search powers in relation to those...
- Strip search prank call scamStrip Search Prank Call ScamThe McDonald's strip search scam was a series of incidents occurring for roughly a decade before an arrest was made in 2004. These incidents involved a man calling a restaurant or grocery store, claiming to be a police detective, and convincing managers to conduct strip searches of female...
- Undress codeUndress codeAn undress code is a dress code or social norm which sets an upper limit on the amount of clothing that can or should be worn. For example, some public swimming facilities set maximum clothing standards, for sanitary reasons...