Authorities admit the searches can be degrading but say they are necessary for safety.
Northampton County Executive John Stoffa points to one particular incident as a cautionary tale when asked about the use of strip-searches in the county prison.In 2010, a Bethlehem man managed to smuggle a loaded gun into the county prison. Christian Neith's weapon, hidden in a crotch holster, went undetected by three officers in four separate pat-down searches. He brought the 9 mm handgun into the prison's intake area on Dec. 29 and hid the weapon behind a cabinet.
It wasn't discovered until Jan. 5.
Northampton County Prison"The worst thing you can have in jail is a loaded weapon," said Stoffa, advocating for more thorough searches. "Safety is the priority."
The U.S. Supreme Court shared his notion in its ruling last week that corrections facilities do not need "reasonable suspicion" or cause in conducting strip- searches.
The case stems from a New Jersey
man's complaint that two searches at the Burlington
and Essex county
jails in 2005 were unnecessary and degrading. Following an arrest on a warrant that he said was resolved, Albert Florence, of Bordentown, was forced twice to appear naked in front of law enforcement officers.
5-4 Supreme Court call
The court's decision leaves the strip-search procedures to the discretion of corrections officials in the name of ensuring "that jails are not made less secure by reason of what new detainees may carry in on their bodies," Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote for the court's majority.
Opposition holds that implications of the 5-4 decision are too broad. In his dissent, Justice Stephen G. Breyer wrote, "I cannot find justification for the strip-search policy at issue here — a policy that would subject those arrested for minor offenses to serious invasions of their personal privacy."
Warren County jail Warden Robert Brothers isn't deaf to these concerns. He said he can understand why people would find the searches disagreeable but maintains they are necessary.
"It can be a degrading and humiliating experience," Brothers said. "On the other side of the coin, we have an obligation to protect staff and inmates from what is being brought in."
He said that Florence's suit caused the jail to "backpedal" its policy on strip-searches for fear of similar litigation.
"We've been limited to who we can strip-search and who we can't," Brothers said.
At one time, all Warren County inmates were subject to strip-searches. Then the searches were reserved for detainees charged with drug or weapon offenses and those suspected of carrying contraband.
Under the revised strip-search policy, a supervisor had to order the search and afterward write a report that would go to the warden for review, Brothers said.
"Initially it kind of hindered us in controlling contraband," he said. "With this ruling now, this allows us to continue our searching process."
The jail hasn't changed its protocol yet, but Brothers hopes change is imminent given the recent court ruling.
'As decent as possible'
In addition to curbing the smuggling of drugs and weapons into jail, Brothers said, the searches also help officials identify and separate gang members by examining otherwise concealed tattoos.
The searches are done "as decent as possible," Brothers said. In the county facility, inmates appear naked in front of an enforcement officer of the same sex in an isolated area. The search is strictly visual, involving no contact between the officer and detainee, according to Brothers.
Tom Cora, president of the Northampton County Prison guards union, agrees that the searches can prove valuable.
"It keeps a safer facility if we know what's coming in," Cora said.
Though he couldn't speak specifically about Northampton County's strip-search procedures, he said the facility would continue to adhere to local and state policies.
"We're prepared to check each and every individual that comes in here," he said.