Did the police have a reasonable suspicion to conduct a strip search? Was the evidence inadmissible? Which case won?
A case in 2017 revolved around the question of whether the police had “reasonable suspicion” to conduct a strip search.
A man was riding a motorcycle along a road when he was stopped by police for not having his helmet strap done up. The man appeared to be nervous.
The police officer made enquiries and found out that the man had previous charges of drug possession and was on bail for manufacturing a prohibited drug. The police officer also observed “ice sores” on the man’s face.
Accordingly, the police officer formed the view that the motorcyclist might be in possession of drugs and decided to search him. In searching the man, the police officer conducted a frisk search and also put his hand inside the man’s jeans and into his genital area.
The man resisted and said: “You can’t do that”. He was then handcuffed and a strip search was performed. The strip search was conducted in public on the roadside in front of other officers.
A plastic bag containing methamphetamine was found in the man’s genital area.
