NYC Schools Frisk, Strip-Search Students; NYCLU to Sue
New York City school officials, it was reported on this day, had been frisking and strip-searching students in response to thefts and other crimes in the schools.
In one incident, an entire English class of seventeen boys and girls in a Brooklyn school were lined up and frisked because a female student had reported her wallet stolen. In another incident, a fifteen-year old girl in a Queens school was stripped and searched by the Dean of Girls because she was suspected of possessing drugs. None of the searches were done with a warrant or with individualized suspicion of their involvement in the reported crimes.
The New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) announced that it would sue the New York City school system over the pattern of violations of the Fourth Amendment.
See the Supreme Court decision on June 26, 2009 ruling that strip searches of middle school students are unconstitutional.
Learn more about the law of strip searches here.
Learn more about the law of body cavity search procedures here.