and intoxicated or injured persons all need special handling to protect the offenders legal rights.
h. Officers should be processed, to a certain degree, by another officer. Females must be
searched by females. They must be separated from male detainees. Injured and intoxicated suspects
must be examined by medical personnel. Juveniles will be discussed later in this lesson.
2.
Searching Offenders.
a. A suspect must be searched before being placed in a cell. Proper procedures must be
followed when conducting a frisk, wall search, strip search, or cavity (body) search. These are as
follows:
b. Frisk. MPs perform the frisk on their own authority. MPs can frisk persons they stop and
question. The frisk serves to protect both the MP and the subject. The frisk is limited to a pat-down on
the outside of the suspect's clothing. It is used to determine the presence or possession of dangerous
weapons. As part of the frisk, MPs may search any property held or controlled by the suspect. This
includes removing the suspect's hat to search inside.
The MP uses his hands to frisk the subject; patting-down the subject's entire body. MPs may not reach
inside a subject's clothing unless he feels an object thought to be dangerous. He then retrieves the
object.
During the frisk, only items thought to be weapons may be seized as evidence.
c. Wall Search. The wall search is more thorough than the frisk. It is done when a suspect is
apprehended. The purpose is to render the suspect harmless. Any item that can be seized as evidence
depends on the reason for the wall search. In a legal apprehension, all illegal items may be seized as
evidence. When searching for weapons, only items thought to be weapons may be seized. Prior to the
apprehension, all items thought to be weapons may be seized.
d. Strip Search. The strip search must be done inside the MP station or another concealed area.
The purpose of a strip search is to locate small items or drugs the suspect may be hiding.
Three MPs are required for the strip search. Two unarmed MPs conduct the actual search while the
third MP guards the door. The suspect removes all clothes and the MP search each item. MPs also
search the suspect's ears, mouth, and hair. All items seized will be properly tagged with an Evidence
Property Tag, DA Form 4002 and listed on DA Form 4137, Evidence/Property Custody Document.
e. Cavity Search. These searches must be conducted by qualified medical personnel of the
same gender as the suspect. The following requirements must be met. There must be a clear indication
that evidence of a crime is contained within the suspect's body. A search warrant should be obtained
MP2003
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