By Police1 Staff
LANSING, Mich. — A new bill would allow strip searches for those incarcerated on misdemeanor crimes, without probable cause.
SB 958, introduced by Sen. Rick Jones, is intended to advance safety in jails for both inmates and staff, according to FOX News.
“You come into a jail, I don’t think you have an expectation of privacy from anything,” said one of the bill’s supporters, Ingham Co. Sheriff Gene Wriggelsworth.
“You find some crazy things in some crazy places, so I think it’s in order to protect our officers and the public as well as the people being booked into the jail.”
If the bill passes, Michigan’s jails would be brought in line with federal prisons. Still, the thought is raising red flags for some.
“We have a constitution that protects its citizens from unreasonable searches and seizures,” said Okemons-based attorney Mark Bailey.
“We’re talking about a strip-search here and so when you’re talking about rights. I think we have to balance the rights of a police officer to be safe – which is important – versus the rights to privacy.”
The bill has been referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee and probably won’t get a vote until the fall session.