The U.S. Supreme Court has effectively silenced lawsuits against unwarranted strip searches by police since authorizing the searches for those arrested for minor offenses. Normally, jailers resort to full cavity searches for serious crimes such as drug offenses. With the new court ruling, police can strip search anyone arrested for any reason without a warrant.
Despite the Supreme Court’s supposed tradition of consistency, the issue of unwarranted searches has been resurrected in these post 9/11 times. The majority of chief justices would agree that with the widespread protests and arrests of Occupy Wall Street demonstrators, the added security measures are justified in order to keep other prisoners and correctional staff safe.
To me, this whole thing smacks of a national plot spearheaded by private prisons and the latex glove industry. But it is most likely part of a typical loophole to humiliate detainees and deter protesters.
In these times of global instability, national laws are becoming more broad and murky each month.
I understand that police can confiscate your phone and cameras, along with any other personal items upon arrest. But to spare us all the time and discomfort, I suggest that instead, the police use the less invasive options of drug sniffing dogs and bomb sensing x-ray machines used at airports.