Strip searches involve asking a person to undress partially or completely to identify contraband. They are controversial and require compelling reasons. Partial searches involve removing bulky clothing, while full searches require stripping down to underwear or even cavity searches. They are used to improve security in controlled environments, but people have successfully sued for unnecessary or invasive searches.
A strip search is a search conducted on a person who has been asked to undress completely or partially to facilitate the identification of contraband material. This approach to personal searches is controversial in many regions of the world as it is considered invasive. Law enforcement officers usually need to present compelling reasons to conduct a strip search as opposed to other types of searches, and the investigator generally needs to be of the same gender as the target to allay concerns about fairness.
In partial searches, people may be asked to remove bulky outer clothing to make it easier to see contraband worn on the body. Jackets, shoes and belts may be removed and people may be asked to remove a shirt or trousers if there are further problems. These items may be searched by hand and the person may be subjected to a body search, during which a security officer carefully feels the body for the presence of abnormal items. This search can usually be conducted in a public area, although people may be turned away to allow other people to pass.
Full strip searches, conducted in private, require people to strip down to their underwear, and in some cases they may be asked to remove their underwear as well. In this visual search, the officer conducting the search can clearly see if the person is wearing contraband on the body. For some environments, such as prisons, the officer may also conduct a cavity search, checking the subject’s mouth and other cavities. You can hide various items in a body cavity to get through security, including drugs and some types of weapons.
The goal of a strip search is to improve security within a controlled environment such as a prison or airport. Depending on policies, everyone may be subject to searches, or security officers may pick people at random for this more invasive search, requiring everyone to go through metal detectors. Stationing of officers of both sexes in mixed spaces is required so that someone is available to conduct a search.
People have successfully sued in some regions of the world on the grounds that searches were unnecessary or invasive. In some cases involving researchers of different genders, public exposure, or searches based on discriminatory profiling, people have successfully won these lawsuits and received settlements to compensate them. People who are unsure about the legality of a body search can ask for more information, including the names and badge numbers of people involved in the decision to search and the details of the search itself.
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