Body cavity search

Last updated
"The Correct Procedure for a Visual Search" – A 1990 video produced by the Federal Bureau of Prisons

A body cavity search, also known simply as a cavity search, is either a visual search or a manual internal inspection of body cavities for prohibited materials (contraband), such as illegal drugs, money, jewelry, or weapons. Body cavities frequently used for concealment include the mouth, vagina, and rectum. It is far more invasive than the standard strip search that is typically performed on individuals taken into custody, either upon police arrest or incarceration at a jail, prison, or psychiatric hospital. Often the procedure is repeated when the person leaves the institution.

Contents

Body cavity searches may also be conducted at some international border crossings such as the U.S. Customs and Border Protection when they suspect international travelers of hiding contraband—such as drugs. [1]

Procedure

Many articles of contraband are concealable in the body's cavities, via means such as insertion into the rectum. Illegal drugs are often found in condoms and temporarily stowed in the colon, and cylinders such as cigar tubes are used to hide money, intravenous syringes, and knives. Duplicate handcuff keys could be concealed in many body orifices, such as in the nasal passages or underneath the tongue.

In a thorough visual body cavity search, a flashlight is used to illuminate common bodily areas, including the nostrils, ears, mouth, navel, penis (urethra and foreskin) or vulva, and buttocks. Generally, the detainee is required to cooperate with manipulating these body parts as they are examined.

Squatting is sometimes instructed during the visual search, and prolonged holding of a squat can be demanded; squats are sometimes demanded while standing over a mirror (so that the observer has an improved view). The person may be asked to “squat and cough,” with the aim of dislodging an object stored in the rectum or vagina. [2]

During manual body cavity searches, an inmate is temporarily transferred to an offsite clinic to be examined by a licensed physician of the same sex; body orifices are probed using fingers or instruments. The circumstances in which these inspections may be done are often restricted, such as on individuals refusing to offer to consent to a visual body cavity search for reasons other than anxiety or in situations where there is a strong evidence to suspect the presence of contraband, and require a court order.

As cavity searches have proven as an ineffective strategy in the total prevention of smuggling objects as it cannot detect objects in the intestines or stomach, as well as taking into consideration the intrusive nature and inherently humiliating or degrading procedure, it has become fairly normal for authorities to instead isolate individuals in a monitored environment until they pass excreta and/or x-ray the individual's pelvic area as it is less invasive and psychologically damaging.

Some inmates and human rights activists argue that body cavity searches are done not so much to stop the flow of contraband but rather to harass and humiliate detainees. A visual inspection of the rectum will not reveal objects concealed deeply inside. Likewise, it is possible to circumvent detection during manual body cavity searches. In some instances, suspects swallow packages of drugs protected by condoms and allow them to pass through their digestive tract. Only diagnostic imaging will reveal the concealed contraband, invalidating the body cavity search.

X-ray diagnostic images can reveal concealed contraband that could not otherwise be detected. The yellow marks show capsules of illegal drugs swallowed by the suspect. Such smugglers are often called drug packers or mules. Drug-Packer X-Ray.jpg
X-ray diagnostic images can reveal concealed contraband that could not otherwise be detected. The yellow marks show capsules of illegal drugs swallowed by the suspect. Such smugglers are often called drug packers or mules.

Because these searches are highly invasive and greatly compromise an individual’s right of privacy, the legality of visual and manual body cavity searches is frequently contested.

United States

In the United States, Bell v. Wolfish is the benchmark case on this issue. In its judgment of the case, the U.S. Supreme Court established a standard of reasonable grounds for performing cavity searches. Among these are security concerns at prisons. Such searches are generally governed by the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which prohibits searches without probable cause. [3]

UK

In the UK, cavity searches are not carried out upon entry to prisons, although new prisoners are required to perform squats as part of their strip-search. Though said prisoners may be visually searched, prison staff do not have the power to carry out cavity searches. [4]

The body cavity search is frequently used as a joke in comedies such as the movies Beavis and Butt-head Do America , Rush Hour 3 , and Wayne’s World , and the American sitcom television series Seinfeld , due to its humiliating, uncomfortable, and invasive nature. Generally, it adds to the suffering of a comedic foil. It is generally not depicted explicitly, but implied by the donning of a lubricated glove by a searcher. It is similar to the use of the rectal examination in this regard.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Smuggling</span> Illegal movement of goods or people

Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. More broadly, social scientists define smuggling as the purposeful movement across a border in contravention to the relevant legal frameworks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Safe sex</span> Ways to reduce the risk of acquiring STIs

Safe sex is sexual activity using methods or contraceptive devices to reduce the risk of transmitting or acquiring sexually transmitted infections (STIs), especially HIV. "Safe sex" is also sometimes referred to as safer sex or protected sex to indicate that some safe sex practices do not eliminate STI risks. It is also sometimes used colloquially to describe methods aimed at preventing pregnancy that may or may not also lower STI risks.

A suppository is a dosage form used to deliver medications by insertion into a body orifice, where it dissolves or melts to exert local or systemic effects. There are three types of suppositories, each to insert into a different sections: rectal suppositories into the rectum, vaginal suppositories into the vagina, and urethral suppositories into the urethra of a male.

A pessary is a prosthetic device inserted into the vagina for structural and pharmaceutical purposes. It is most commonly used to treat stress urinary incontinence to stop urinary leakage and to treat pelvic organ prolapse to maintain the location of organs in the pelvic region. It can also be used to administer medications locally in the vagina or as a method of contraception.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse</span> 2004 American military scandal during the Iraq War

During the early stages of the Iraq War, members of the United States Army and the Central Intelligence Agency committed a series of human rights violations and war crimes against detainees in the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, including physical abuse, sexual humiliation, physical and psychological torture, and rape, as well the killing of Manadel al-Jamadi and the desecration of his body. The abuses came to public attention with the publication of photographs of the abuse by CBS News in April 2004. The incidents caused shock and outrage, receiving widespread condemnation within the United States and internationally.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Concealment device</span> Device used to hide something

Concealment devices or diversion safes are used to hide things for the purpose of secrecy or security. They are made from an ordinary household object such as a book, a soda can, a candle, a can, or something as small as a coin. The idea is that such an inconspicuous object would not be expected to contain anything of worth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shiv (weapon)</span> Improvised knife-like weapon

A shiv, also chiv, schiv, shivvie, or shank, is a handcrafted bladed-weapon resembling a knife that is commonly associated with prison inmates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anal masturbation</span> Sexual stimulation of ones own anus

Anal masturbation is an autoerotic practice in which a person masturbates by sexually stimulating their own anus and rectum. Common methods of anal masturbation include manual stimulation of the anal opening and the insertion of an object or objects. Items inserted may be sex toys such as anal beads, butt plugs, dildos, vibrators, or specially designed prostate massagers or enemas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Strip search</span> Searching a person with clothing removed

A strip search is a practice of searching a person for weapons or other contraband suspected of being hidden on their body or inside their clothing, and not found by performing a frisk search, but by requiring the person to remove some or all clothing. The search may involve an official performing an intimate person search and inspecting their personal effects and body cavities. A strip search is more intrusive than a frisk and requires legal authority. Regulations covering strip searches vary considerably and may be mandatory in some situations or discretionary in others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prisoner abuse</span> Mistreatment of imprisoned people by authorities

Prisoner abuse is the mistreatment of persons while they are under arrest or incarcerated. Prisoner abuse can include physical abuse, psychological abuse, sexual abuse, torture, or other acts such as refusal of essential medication, and it can be perpetuated by either fellow inmates or prison faculty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mule (smuggling)</span> Person who smuggles contraband and illegal drugs to another border

A mule or courier is someone who personally smuggles contraband across a border for a smuggling organization. The organizers employ mules to reduce the risk of getting caught themselves. Methods of smuggling include hiding the goods in vehicles or carried items, attaching them to one's body, or using the body as a container.

The Malaysian lock-up detainee abuse scandal is a scandal involving the abuse allegations of detainees under the care of the Royal Malaysian Police which occurred in 2005.

Cavity Search may refer to:

The strip search phone call scam was a series of incidents, mostly occurring in rural areas of the United States, that extended over a period of at least ten years, starting in 1994. The incidents involved a man calling a restaurant or grocery store, claiming to be a police officer, and then convincing managers to conduct strip searches of employees, and to perform other bizarre and humiliating acts on behalf of "the police". The calls were most often made to fast-food restaurants in small towns.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Full body scanner</span> Device which detects objects in or around a persons body

A full-body scanner is a device that detects objects on or inside a person's body for security screening purposes, without physically removing clothes or making physical contact. Unlike metal detectors, full-body scanners can detect non-metal objects, which became an increasing concern after various airliner bombing attempts in the 2000s. Some scanners can also detect swallowed items or items hidden in the body cavities of a person. Starting in 2007, full-body scanners started supplementing metal detectors at airports and train stations in many countries.

In United States criminal law, the border search exception is a doctrine that allows searches and seizures at international borders and their functional equivalent without a warrant or probable cause. Generally speaking, searches within 100 miles of the border are more permissible without a warrant than those conducted elsewhere in the U.S. The doctrine also allows federal agents to search people at border crossings without a warrant or probable cause. The government is allowed to use scanning devices and to search personal electronics. Invasive bodily searches, however, require reasonable suspicion.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to human sexuality:

<i>Florence v. Board of Chosen Freeholders</i> 2012 United States Supreme Court case

Florence v. Board of Chosen Freeholders, 566 U.S. 318 (2012), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held that officials may strip-search individuals who have been arrested for any crime before admitting the individuals to jail, even if there is no reason to suspect that the individual is carrying contraband.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dry cell (prison)</span> Cell without plumbing facilities

In prison terminology a dry cell is a room that prisoners are placed in that lacks any plumbing facilities such as a toilet or shower. In the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a dry cell can be used if a prisoner claims to be unable to urinate for a drug test under direct visual supervision. Prisoners are also sometimes placed in dry cells if they are suspected of having swallowed contraband. The idea is that they will eventually excrete all the contents of their digestive system, and lacking any toilet, they will be unable to dispose of it and thereby prevent prison officials from acquiring the evidence.

Hudson v. Palmer, 468 U.S. 517 (1984), is a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held that prison inmates have no privacy rights in their cells protected by the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The Court also held that an intentional deprivation of property by a state employee "does not violate the Fourteenth Amendment if an adequate postdeprivation state remedy exists," extending Parratt v. Taylor to intentional torts.

References

  1. See United States v. Montoya de Hernandez , 473 U.S. 531, 538 (1985).
  2. Wickman, Forrest (2012-04-03). "How To Conduct a Strip-Search". Slate Magazine. Retrieved 2019-07-08.
  3. "Fourth Amendment - U.S. Constitution". Findlaw. Retrieved 2019-07-08.
  4. "HM Prison Service - Prison Service News (Magazine)". Archived from the original on 2011-06-10. Retrieved 2009-06-13.