Sunday, 21 July 2019

Strip Searches !

The war against drugs has empowered police to require a suspect to remove all their clothes and be inspected naked.  There is the expectation that they will be required to squat and cough and the aim is to discover illicit drugs secreted in body cavities.   This is a humiliating experience which many describe as akin to sexual assault.

It seems to be particularly rife when police are vetting the crowd  waiting to enter a popular music festival.  Research has shown that about ninety percent of such patrons have the intention of taking a euphoria producing drug to enhance the experience of the music and the police rely on trained sniffer dogs to detect suspects likely to have such drugs on their person.

There seems to be few hard and fast rules that apply, except that such body searches must be carried out by officers of the same gender.  It is unclear what happens if someone refuses to undress for a body search.  Theoretically, they could be arrested and taken to a police station, put in a cell and strip searched there, but that would open the door to court action should they sue for false arrest.

The result statistics are revealing. In the vast majority of cases no drugs are forthcoming and the person strip searched is released without charge.  Dogs have noses more sensitive that humans and the sniffer dogs police use are trained to react if they detect the odour of certain drugs. In the crowds waiting at the entrance to music festivals it is possible the sight of police may cause some patrons to drop the drugs in their pocket to avoid detection.  Should innocent patrons step on them their shoes would draw a dog's attention, resulting in a strip search.

From the point of view of the police, strip searches introduce a potent fear factor.   A line of police waiting with sniffer dogs by their side can be very intimidating and their job is to stop drugs entering music festivals.  If ninety percent of patrons are intending drug users that failure of strip searches to detect drugs delivers an excellent success rate.  Obviously many dispose of their drugs rather than risk taking them past  those sniffer dogs.

People who have undergone strip searches complain that searching police seem to enjoy the power they wield and their attitude is that they are dealing with a criminal.  There is no apology when the search is inconclusive and they feel that their day of enjoyment has become a thoroughly bad experience.  In some it engenders an ongoing fear of the police.

To those brought up by their parents with a high degree of modesty that demand that they disrobe and present naked to complete strangers is a form of sexual assault.  It is expected that the facial expressions of police conducting the search would be neutral, but a sly grin at the suspects discomfort would certainly enhance the feeling of humiliation.

It is a fact that that drugs are carried in body cavities and strip searches are a legitimate method of detection.  It must be required of the police that the premises in which they are carried out is suitable and has adequate privacy.  Considering the failure rate from sniffer dog indications perhaps facial recognition of people with known drug involvement would be a better method of search selection. As things stand at present being called upon to be strip searched seems more of an unlucky choice than an indication of guilt.

In some cases, it may even be contributing to drug deaths !

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