STRIP SEARCH
Attorney
General's Strip Search and Body Cavity Search
Requirements and Procedures for Police Officers
Issued February 1993
Revised June 1995
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TO:
ALL COUNTY PROSECUTORS
DATE: February 3, 1993
Enclosed
for dissemination to all county and local law enforcement agencies
within your jurisdiction are the Attorney General's Strip Search
and Body Cavity Search Requirements and Procedures for Police
Officers. These guidelines are being promulgated pursuant to N.J.S.A.
2A:161A-8b, which authorizes the Attorney General to issue guidelines
governing the performance of strip and body cavity searches, as
well as guidelines for the release and confinement of persons
arrested for offenses other than crimes. While the statute addresses
non-indictable offenses, the Attorney General's guidelines cover
strip search and body cavity search procedures for crimes as well.
The enclosed guidelines are effective immediately.
Robert T. Winter
Director
Division
of Criminal Justice
Attorney
General's
Strip
Search and Body Cavity Search
Requirements
and Procedures for Police Officers
N.J.S.A.
2A:161A-1 et seq.
- Definitions
- Strip
Search
- Removal
or rearrangement of clothing to permit visual inspection
of a person's
- undergarments
- buttocks
- anus
- genitals
- breasts
- The
following does not constitute a strip search:
- removal
or rearranging of clothing reasonably required to render
medical treatment or assistance, or
- removal
of articles of outer clothing, such as coats, ties,
belts or shoelaces.
- Body
Cavity Search
- Visual
inspection or manual search of a person's
- anal
cavity
- vaginal
cavity
- Search
Requirements
- Detention
or arrest without custodial confinement
- Strip
Search
- NO
exigent circumstances:
- Search
warrant or consent, and
- Authorized
by officer in charge of the station house.
- Exigent
circumstances:
- Probable
cause to believe that the person is concealing a weapon,
contraband or evidence of crime, and
- Exigent
circumstances prevent obtaining a search warrant or
approval of officer in charge.
- Body
cavity search is not appropriate without custodial confinement
- Custodial
Confinement
- Strip
Search
- Officer
in charge authorizes confinement in municipal detention
facility or transfer to adult correctional facility,
and
- Officer
in charge authorizes search, and
- One
of the following:
- Search
warrant, or
- Consent,
or
- Reasonable
suspicion to believe that the person is concealing
a weapon, contraband or Controlled Dangerous Substances.
- Body
Cavity Search
- Officer
in charge authorizes confinement in municipal detention
facility or transfer to adult correctional facility,
and
- Officer
in charge authorizes search, and
- One
of the following:
- Search
warrant, or
- Consent
- Procedures
- Strip
Search
- Conducted
by person of same sex, and
- Conducted
in private, and
- Conducted
under sanitary conditions, and
- Conducted
in a professional and dignified manner, and
- In
custodial confinement, conducted in accordance with Department
of Corrections regulations
- Body
Cavity Search
- Conducted
by licensed physician or registered nurse of same sex,
and
- Conducted
in private, and
- Conducted
in a medically acceptable manner and environment, and
- Conducted
under sanitary conditions, and
- Conducted
in accordance with Department of Corrections regulations.
- Reporting
Requirements
- Officer
who performs strip search or has body cavity search conducted
must report the reason for this search on the record of
arrest. The report must include:
- A
statement of facts indicating the reasonable suspicion
or probable cause for the search.
- A
copy of the search warrant, if appropriate.
- A
copy of the consent form, if appropriate.
- The
name of the officer in charge who authorized the search.
- The
names of the persons conducting the search.
- An
inventory of any items found during the search.
- If
exigent circumstances were the basis for the search, the
officer who conducted the strip search must file a separate
written report stating the reasons for the immediate search.
- Requirements
and Procedures for Officer in Charge of Station House
- The
arrested person should be processed in accordance with R.
3:4-1, a summary of this court rule is attached, and, if
applicable, with standard operating procedure adopted by
the county prosecutor.
- Where
appropriate, a person arrested in accordance with R.
3:4-1 shall be released or have bail set without unnecessary
delay but in no event later than 12 hours after arrest.
- Unless
authorized by search warrant or consent, a strip search
should not be conducted if the arrested person will be released
without custodial confinement or will soon be released on
bail or own recognizance.
- The
officer in charge shall assure that a consent to a strip
search or body cavity search is in writing whenever possible.
- The
officer in charge shall assure that all strip searches and
body cavity searches are conducted in private and that these
searches cannot be observed by persons not physically conducting
the search.
- When
a body cavity search is conducted, the officer in charge
shall request a sworn statement from the licensed physician
or registered nurse who conducted the search stating that
the body cavity search was conducted pursuant to statutory
and medical requirements.
- All
reports pertaining to strip searches or body cavity searches
are not public records. These reports shall be made available,
upon request, only to the person searched, the county prosecutor,
the Attorney General or the Commissioner of the Department
of Corrections.
- Procedure
For The Processing of Suspects Arrested Without a Warrant
- Always
consult with county prosecutor for local procedures
- A
Summary of New Jersey Court Rule 3:4-1
- A
person arrested without a warrant for any offense shall
be taken to the police station where a complaint shall
be prepared forthwith.
- A
person arrested without a warrant for one of the following
criminal offenses: murder, kidnapping, aggravated manslaughter,
manslaughter, robbery, aggravated sexual assault, sexual
assault, aggravated criminal sexual contact, criminal
sexual contact, second degree aggravated assault, aggravated
arson, arson, burglary, violations of Chapter 35 of Title
2C that constitute first or second degree crimes, any
crime involving the possession or use of a firearm, or
conspiracies or attempts to commit such crimes, shall
be taken to a police station. The police officer shall
comply with the criteria of Paragraph 5 below.
- A
person arrested without a warrant for an offense not listed
in Paragraph 2 above, shall be taken to the police station
where the officer in charge shall:
- Complete
all post-arrest identification procedures required by
law;
- Prepare
a complaint-summons (CDR-1);
- Issue
the complaint-summons to the person arrested, and
- Release
the arrested person in lieu of continued detention.
- The
officer in charge has discretion not to prepare a complaint
summons if the officer determines that any of the following
conditions exist:
- The
person has previously failed to respond to a summons;
- The
officer has reason to believe that the person is dangerous
to himself, to others or to property;
- There
is one or more outstanding arrest warrants for the person;
- The
prosecution of the offense or offenses for which the
person is arrested or the prosecution of any other offense
of offenses would be jeopardized by the immediate release
of the person;
- The
person cannot be satisfactorily identified; or
- The
officer has reason to believe the person will not appear
in response to a summons.
- If
the officer determines that one of the conditions in Paragraph
2 or 4 above applies, the officer shall:
- Immediately
prepare a complaint-warrant (CDR-2), and
- Take
the person arrested without unnecessary delay before
the nearest available committing judge to have bail
set. Bail shall be set no later than 12 hours after
the arrest.
- The
officer shall present the matter to the appropriate
judicial officer authorized to set bail who shall determine
whether there is probable cause to believe that the
defendant committed the offense
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