A woman says that she was forcibly strip-searched in LaSalle Count after an arrest for a DUI.  The victim, Dana Holmes, was searched by three men and one woman, and the incident was videotaped.  Her attorney, Terry Ekl, says that her client is not alone.  Several other women have c0me forward to Ekl to say that they, too, were forcibly strip-searched.  (Chicago Tribune).

According to Illinois law, strip searches must be conducted by officers of the same sex as the subject.  It is also prohibited for anyone besides the ones conducting the search to observe it.  In Holmes’ case, these laws weren’t obeyed.  Her lawsuit against LaSalle County includes accusations that they “violated state laws on strip searches and fails to train, supervise and discipline officers on proper procedures.”

Sadly, Holmes’ case is far too common.  Strip searches have been done for minor offenses; they are known to be done excessively in prison (according to Criminal Justice Inspectorate and Stoudemire v. Mich. Dep’t of Corr), and for absolutely no reason at all.

Blacks are stopped by cops more often than whites.  This gives blacks more chances to be wrongfully strip searched.  For the past ten years, blacks have been stopped and frisked extremely more often than whites.  Specifically in 2011, out of the 685, 724 stops by authorities 53% of them were black and 9% of the stops were of white (New York Civil Liberties Union).

Furthermore, frisks and strip searches have tiny yield rates.  Guns are found in less the 0.2% of stop-and-frisks and just 11% of stops were said to be based on suspicion of violent crime (NYCLU).  So what else are they based on?  Is it race?  Or an excuse to sexually abuse a woman?  The law should definitely not permit strip searches to be so regular.

Eric Holder, the US Attorney General, says “When you have a rule that treats everyone the same, you don’t have folks that are singled out. You don’t have any security gaps.”

The thing is, though, it is singling people out.  It’s humiliating and dehumanizing to search through a person’s body.

For instances with a serious threat, it is understandable that authorities would conduct a strip search to ensure safety of civilians.  But for a DUI, an unpaid fine, or for being a certain race or sex, there is no way that it’s okay. That’s “unnecessary search and seizure,” which is literally prohibited by the fourth amendment.  And it’s affecting all of us.

Even though we are only high school students, we are still citizens of the United States.  We take part in American life.  This encroachment on the fourth amendment affects every single one of us.  It’s not acceptable to take away our rights.

Government officials are always fighting about whether laws are unconstitutional.  They ought to take another look at the facts and provide justice for innocent citizens of America.