Policy Text
501.3 Detainee Search’s Page 1 of 7 Rev. 09/28/22
GENERAL ORDER
501.3 DETAINEE SEARCHES
REVISION DATE:09/28/2022
BY ORDER OF THE CHIEF OF POLICE
SUNNY ISLES BEACH
POLICE DEPARTMENT ORIGINAL EFFECTIVE DATE: 09/28/22
PREVIOUS REVISIONS:
RESCINDS: All previously issued directives REFERENCE : CFA 2.01M, 21.02M 22.04M
TABLE OF CONTENTS
A. PURPOSE ....................................................... ............................................................... .... 1
B. SCOPE ......................................................... ............................................................... ....... 1
C. POLICY ........................................................ ............................................................... ...... 1
D. DEFINITIONS ................................................... ............................................................... 1
E. PURPOSES OF A SEARCH .......................................... .................................................. 2
F. SEARCHES ...................................................... ............................................................... .. 3
G. SEARCH OF TRANSGENDER INDIVIDUALS ............................. ............................. 5
H. STRIP SEARCHES ................................................ .......................................................... 6
I. BODY CAVITY SEARCHES .......................................... ................................................ 6
J. SEARCH OF PERSON FOR DEVICE INDICATING A MEDICAL DISABILITY 7
K. SEIZURE OF PROPERTY ........................................... .................................................. 7
A. PURPOSE
The purpose of this directive is to provide guidance and proced ures for the transportation of prisoners/detainees.
Officers are frequently required to transport detainees to the Department, a correctional facility, or a medical facility.
It is the responsibility of the officer to provide for the safe ty and security of the prisoners/detainees and the
community.
B. SCOPE
This directive is applicable to all officers of the Department.
C. POLICY
It is the policy of the City of Sunny Isles Beach Police Depart ment to take the precautions necessary while
transporting detainees to protect the lives and safety of offic ers, the public, and the detainee.
D. DEFINITIONS
Body Cavity Search: The touching or probing of a person’s body cavity, whether or not there is actual penetration
of the body cavity.
DETAINEE SEARCHES
General Order 501.3
501.3 Detainee Search’s Page 2 of 7 Rev. 09/28/22
Custodial Search: A complete search of a subject used when a subject is taken in to custody in an unsecured
environment.
Detainee: A person in the custody of an officer and their freedom of mov ement is at the will of the officer. For
purposes of this directive, the word “detainee” shall be synony mous with the words “arrestee” and “prisoner.”
Gender Expression: Is a person's external appearance, including characteristics o r behavior typically associated
with a specific gender. The gender someone expresses can be dif ferent from the gender with which he/she identifies.
Cross-dressing (dressing in a manner typically associated with the opposite sex) is a for m of gender expression.
Gender Identity: Is that person's innate sense of his or her own gender. The ge nder someone identifies with may
be different from the gender assigned at birth.
Pat-Down Frisk: A limited protective search for concealed weapon(s) and/or dan gerous instrument(s). Usually, it
occurs during a “stop” and consists of a pat-down or “frisk” co nducted in a predetermined pattern of the outer
garments of an individual to detect the presence of weapons or other dangerous objects. A member may conduct a
pat-down frisk of a person on the basis of “reasonable suspicio n” that the person is carrying a concealed weapon or
dangerous instrument. A pat-dow n frisk is done for one purpose only: officer safety.
Probable Cause: When facts or circumstances within an officer’s knowledge, and which they have reasonable
trustworthy information, are su fficient in themselves to justif y a prudent person to believe a crime has been or is
being committed and the person to be arrested has committed or is committing it.
Reasonable Suspicion: Objectively justifiable suspic ion that is based on facts or c ircumstances that justifies
stopping and sometimes frisking a person thought to be involved in criminal activity at the time.
Strip Search: To have an arrested person rem ove or rearrange some or all of his/her clothing so as to permit a
visual or manual inspection of t he genitals, buttocks, anus, br easts (in the case of a female) or undergarments of
such person. Sexual Orientation: Means a person's orientation toward heterosexuality, homosexua lity, bisexuality, transgender
status, or another person's perception thereof.
Transport Vehicle: A vehicle used for transporting a detainee from one point to a nother.
Transgender Status: Is a term that describes an individual whose gender identity o r gender expression is different
from that traditionally associated with that individual's sex a t birth.
E. PURPOSES OF A SEARCH
1. When a lawful arrest is affected , police officers shall search the arrested person and the area within the person’s
immediate control for the purpose of:
a. Protecting the officer from attack;
b. Preventing the person from escaping; c. Discovery and seizure of fi rearms, weapons, and/or improvise d devices;
DETAINEE SEARCHES
General Order 501.3
501.3 Detain