SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- On Feb. 20, 2018, the San
Francisco Sheriff's Department enacted a policy requiring
unwarranted, invasive and humiliating strip searches of transgender
inmates. The Deputy Sheriff's Association (DSA) decries this
intrusive policy and calls for the immediate transition to body
scanners for all initial contraband interception.
Like jails across the country, San
Francisco jails face consistent efforts by some inmates to
smuggle drugs, weapons, and other contraband into secure
facilities. Jails need to screen people entering jail facilities
for contraband. Smuggling drugs into jails is a big business and
getting drugs into the jails is at times a bigger and more
profitable business than drug sales on the streets. Inmates cannot
effectively gain from rehabilitation under these conditions. The
San Francisco Sheriff's Department
prides itself on rehabilitation programs. Reducing the amount of
drugs that flow into the jails could increase the rehabilitation
results.
In many places, jails are using less invasive strategies for
intercepting contraband, in particular using body scanning devices
– similar to those used in many airports – to locate and intercept
contraband items. These devices are now widely used in in jail
settings. But the San
Francisco Sheriff's Department insists on using outdated and
invasive visual strip searches to detect contraband.
Visual strip searches require inmates to remove their clothing
and stand naked in front of staff. Inmates are required to
open their mouths and manually stretch their lips and cheeks, lift
or manually open their genitals, and bend over while holding their
buttocks apart while staff visually inspect each area for the
presence of contraband. Having a stranger look into one's orifices
is the most humiliating a degrading experience coming into jail.
This process can be especially humiliating for first-time
offenders, elderly and transgender inmates.
"Strip searches are an antiquated and less effective strategy
for intercepting contraband," says San
Francisco Deputy Sheriff's Association president
Ken Lomba. "I think a lot of San
Franciscans would be surprised to learn we're still doing strip
searches when places like Ohio
have already switched to body scanner technology," he said. "From a
security perspective, body scanners do a great job detecting
contraband and from a human perspective they are much less invasive
and humiliating," he said.
The DSA advocates immediately moving to body scanners to avoid
the need to strip search inmates for initial security screening.
While it may take some time to fully implement body scanners, the
Department could acquire adequate devices right away for
transgender inmates and first-time offenders. San Francisco is known as a "High Tech City"
yet the San Francisco Sheriff's
Department is behind the times with humiliating searches, outdated
equipment and worn out dangerous vehicles.
The San Francisco Deputy
Sheriff's Association is the labor union representing deputy
sheriffs and senior deputy sheriffs in the San Francisco Sheriff's Department.
Related Links
San Francisco Deputy Sheriffs
Association
San Francisco Deputy Sheriffs
Association
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SOURCE San Francisco Deputy
Sheriffs' Association