A body cavity search, also known simply as a cavity search, is either a visual search or a manual internal inspection of

body cavities A body cavity is any space or compartment, or potential space, in an animal body. Cavities accommodate organs and other structures; cavities as potential spaces contain fluid. The two largest human body cavities are the ventral body cavity, and ...

for prohibited materials (

contraband Contraband (from Medieval French ''contrebande'' "smuggling") refers to any item that, relating to its nature, is illegal to be possessed or sold. It is used for goods that by their nature are considered too dangerous or offensive in the eyes o ...

), such as illegal drugs, money, jewelry, or weapons. Body cavities frequently used for concealment include the

mouth In animal anatomy, the mouth, also known as the oral cavity, or in Latin cavum oris, is the opening through which many animals take in food and issue vocal sounds. It is also the cavity lying at the upper end of the alimentary canal, bounded on ...

vagina In mammals, the vagina is the elastic, muscular part of the female genital tract. In humans, it extends from the vestibule to the cervix. The outer vaginal opening is normally partly covered by a thin layer of mucosal tissue called the hymen ...

, and

rectum The rectum is the final straight portion of the large intestine in humans and some other mammals, and the gut in others. The adult human rectum is about long, and begins at the rectosigmoid junction (the end of the sigmoid colon) at the l ...

. It is far more invasive than the standard

strip search A strip search is a practice of searching a person for weapons or other contraband suspected of being hidden on their body or inside their clothing, and not found by performing a frisk search, but by requiring the person to remove some or al ...

that is typically performed on individuals taken into custody, either upon police arrest or

incarceration Imprisonment is the restraint of a person's liberty, for any cause whatsoever, whether by authority of the government, or by a person acting without such authority. In the latter case it is " false imprisonment". Imprisonment does not necessar ...

at a jail,

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, corre ...

, or

psychiatric hospital Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental health hospitals, behavioral health hospitals, are hospitals or wards specializing in the treatment of severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, dissociat ...

. Often the procedure is repeated when the person leaves the institution. Body cavity searches may also be conducted at some international border crossings such as the U.S. Customs and Border Protection when they suspect international travelers of hiding contraband—such as drugs

Procedure

Many articles of contraband are concealable in the body's cavities, via means such as insertion into the

. Illegal drugs are often found in condoms and temporarily stowed in the colon, and cylinders such as

Cigar Tube A cigar is a rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco leaves made to be smoked. Cigars are produced in a variety of sizes and shapes. Since the 20th century, almost all cigars are made of three distinct components: the filler, the binder le ...

s are used to hide money, intravenous syringes, and knives. Duplicate

handcuff Handcuffs are restraint devices designed to secure an individual's wrists in proximity to each other. They comprise two parts, linked together by a chain, a hinge, or rigid bar. Each cuff has a rotating arm which engages with a ratchet that ...

keys could be concealed in many body

orifices A body orifice is any opening in the body of an animal. External In a typical mammalian body such as the human body, the external body orifices are: * The nostrils, for breathing and the associated sense of smell * The mouth, for eating, brea ...

, such as in the nasal passages or underneath the tongue. In a thorough ''visual body cavity'' search, a

flashlight A flashlight (American English, US, Canadian English, Canada) or torch (British English, UK, Australian English, Australia) is a portable hand-held electric lamp. Formerly, the light source typically was a miniature incandescent light bulb, b ...

is used to illuminate common bodily areas, including the

nostril A nostril (or naris , plural ''nares'' ) is either of the two orifices of the nose. They enable the entry and exit of air and other gasses through the nasal cavities. In birds and mammals, they contain branched bones or cartilages called turbi ...

ear An ear is the organ that enables hearing and, in mammals, body balance using the vestibular system. In mammals, the ear is usually described as having three parts—the outer ear, the middle ear and the inner ear. The outer ear consists of ...

navel The navel (clinically known as the umbilicus, commonly known as the belly button or tummy button) is a protruding, flat, or hollowed area on the abdomen at the attachment site of the umbilical cord. All placental mammals have a navel, altho ...

penis A penis (plural ''penises'' or ''penes'' () is the primary sexual organ that male animals use to inseminate females (or hermaphrodites) during copulation. Such organs occur in many animals, both vertebrate and invertebrate, but males d ...

(

urethra The urethra (from Greek οὐρήθρα – ''ourḗthrā'') is a tube that connects the urinary bladder to the urinary meatus for the removal of urine from the body of both females and males. In human females and other primates, the urethra ...

and

foreskin In male human anatomy, the foreskin, also known as the prepuce, is the double-layered fold of skin, mucosal and muscular tissue at the distal end of the human penis that covers the glans and the urinary meatus. The foreskin is attached to the ...

) or

vulva The vulva (plural: vulvas or vulvae; derived from Latin for wrapper or covering) consists of the external female sex organs. The vulva includes the mons pubis (or mons veneris), labia majora, labia minora, clitoris, vestibular bulbs, vulv ...

, and

buttocks The buttocks (singular: buttock) are two rounded portions of the exterior anatomy of most mammals, located on the posterior of the pelvic region. In humans, the buttocks are located between the lower back and the perineum. They are composed ...

. Generally, the

detainee Detention is the process whereby a state or private citizen lawfully holds a person by removing their freedom or liberty at that time. This can be due to (pending) criminal charges preferred against the individual pursuant to a prosecution or t ...

is required to cooperate with manipulating these body parts as they are examined.

Squatting Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there ...

is sometimes instructed during the visual search, and prolonged holding of a squat can be demanded; squats are sometimes demanded while standing over a mirror (so that the observer has an improved view). The person may be asked to “squat and cough,” with the aim of dislodging an object stored in the rectum or vagina. During ''manual body cavity'' searches, an inmate is temporarily transferred to an offsite clinic to be examined by a licensed physician of the same sex; body orifices are probed using fingers or instruments. The circumstances in which these inspections may be done are often restricted, such as on individuals refusing to offer to consent to a visual body cavity search for reasons other than anxiety or in situations where there is a strong evidence to suspect the presence of contraband, and require a court order. As cavity searches have proven as an ineffective strategy in the total prevention of smuggling objects as it cannot detect objects in the intestines or stomach, as well as taking into consideration the intrusive nature and inherently humiliating or degrading procedure, it has become fairly normal for authorities to instead isolate individuals in a monitored environment until they pass excreta and/or x-ray the individual's pelvic area as it is less invasive and psychologically damaging.

Legal standing

Some inmates and human rights activists argue that body cavity searches are done not so much to stop the flow of contraband but rather to harass and humiliate detainees. A visual inspection of the rectum will not reveal objects concealed deeply inside. Likewise, it is possible to circumvent detection during manual body cavity searches. In some instances, suspects swallow packages of drugs protected by condoms and allow them to pass through their

digestive tract The gastrointestinal tract (GI tract, digestive tract, alimentary canal) is the tract or passageway of the digestive system that leads from the mouth to the anus. The GI tract contains all the major organs of the digestive system, in humans and ...

. Only

diagnostic imaging Medical imaging is the technique and process of imaging the interior of a body for clinical analysis and medical intervention, as well as visual representation of the function of some organs or tissues ( physiology). Medical imaging seeks to r ...

will reveal the concealed contraband, invalidating the body cavity search. Drug-Packer X-Ray

Because these searches are highly invasive and greatly compromise an individual’s right of privacy, the legality of visual and manual body cavity searches is frequently contested.

United States

In the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, '' Bell v. Wolfish'' is the benchmark case on this issue. In its judgment of the case, the U.S. Supreme Court established a standard of reasonable grounds for performing cavity searches. Among these are security concerns at prisons. Such searches are generally governed by the

Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution The Fourth Amendment (Amendment IV) to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. It prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures. In addition, it sets requirements for issuing warrants: warrants must be issued by a judge o ...

, which prohibits searches without probable cause.

UK

In the UK, cavity searches are not carried out upon entry to prisons, although new prisoners are required to perform squats as part of their strip-search. Though said prisoners may be visually searched, prison staff do not have the power to carry out cavity searches.

Pakistan

Law enforcement officers are not allowed to conduct cavity searches or

es in

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. Any officer who conducts a cavity search or strip search can be sentenced up to 4 years in prison and given a

Rs. Rupee is the common name for the currencies of India, Mauritius, Nepal, Pakistan, Seychelles, and Sri Lanka, and of former currencies of Afghanistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates (as the Gulf rupee), British East Africa, B ...

7500 fine.

In popular culture

The body cavity search is frequently used as a

joke A joke is a display of humour in which words are used within a specific and well-defined narrative structure to make people laughter, laugh and is usually not meant to be interpreted literally. It usually takes the form of a story, often with ...

in comedies such as the movies ''

Beavis and Butt-head Do America ''Beavis and Butt-Head Do America'' is a 1996 American adult animated comedy film based on the MTV animated television series ''Beavis and Butt-Head''. The film was co-written and directed by series creator Mike Judge, who reprises his roles fro ...

'', ''

Rush Hour 3 ''Rush Hour 3'' is a 2007 American buddy action comedy film directed by Brett Ratner, written by Jeff Nathanson, and starring Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker, Max von Sydow, Hiroyuki Sanada, Noémie Lenoir, Yvan Attal and Youki Kudoh. It is the thi ...

'', and '' Wayne’s World'', and the American

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...

Seinfeld ''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld. It aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, over nine seasons and 180 episodes. It stars Seinfeld as a fictionalized version of himself and ...

'', due to its humiliating, uncomfortable, and invasive nature. Generally, it adds to the suffering of a

comedic foil A double act (also known as a comedy duo) is a form of comedy originating in the British music hall tradition, and American vaudeville, in which two comedians perform together as a single act. Pairings are typically long-term, in some cases fo ...

. It is generally not depicted explicitly, but implied by the donning of a lubricated glove by a searcher. It is similar to the use of the rectal examination in this regard.

References

External links

* ''Bell v. Wolfish'', 441 U.S. 520, 559 (1979

* * {{Cite journal , doi = 10.1177/0093854885012004003 , last1 = Kalinich , first1 = David B. , last2 = Stojkovic , first2 = Stan , year = 1985 , title = Contraband: The Basis for Legitimate Power in a Prison Social System , journal = Criminal Justice and Behavior , volume = 12 , issue = 4, pages = 435–451 , s2cid = 220590141 * Lerner, Jimmy (2002). ''You Got Nothing Coming: Notes From a Prison Fish''. New York: Broadway Books. Articles containing video clips Imprisonment and detention Law enforcement techniques Nudity Searches and seizures Strip search