Pubdate: Mon, 10 Dec 2001 Source: London Free Press (CN ON) Copyright: 2001 The London Free Press a division of Sun Media Corporation. Contact: http://www.fyilondon.com/londonfreepress/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/243 STRIP SEARCH RULING CORRECT When power is abused, society is debased. And even our guardians of peace and security must sometimes be restrained from overstepping the boundaries of duty. That's why we welcome the Supreme Court of Canada's decision to outlaw routine strip-searches by police. In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that, in future, strip searches must be authorized by a senior officer and conducted by an officer of the same sex. Also, searches of body cavities must be carried out only by medical personnel. "The mere possibility an individual may be concealing evidence or weapons upon his person is not sufficient to justify a strip search," wrote Justices Frank Iacobucci and Louise Arbour. "A strip search will always be illegal if it is carried out for the purpose of humiliating or punishing the arrestee." That's the key. While police argue strip searches are often vital, the Supreme Court said the use of intrusive search techniques has gotten out of hand. There have been a number of recent notorious examples: n Eight female students at Trent University were strip-searched last March after a sit-in at one of the school's academic offices. n A female protester was strip-searched in full view of male guards at the 1997 Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation Summit. n Five women in Guelph were strip-searched after a 1997 protest against the provincial government. Clearly, many strip searches are conducted by hot-headed police officers whose main motive is to degrade a detainee. Those actions are unacceptable. The latest ruling in no way lessens the ability of the police to retrieve evidence. Indeed, the Supreme Court ruling came as a direct result of the way Toronto police handled a suspected cocaine trafficker. After a struggle, police emptied the restaurant where the man was apprehended and then forcibly searched him in the dining room. The man was again strip-searched at the police station. And even though it yielded a 10-gram bag of cocaine, the Supreme Court ruled the 1997 strip-search was conducted in a de-humanizing manner. The court said there was no reason the strip-search had to be conducted with such urgency, and officers could easily have driven the suspect to a nearby detachment. The top court's decision doesn't tie the hands of police; it merely calls for reasonable amounts of restraint and responsibility. It strengthens us all. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth