Florence v. Board of Chosen Freeholders

In Florence v. Board of Chosen Freeholders (2012) U.S. 132 S.Ct. 1510, the court held law enforcement officers do not need reasonable suspicion to conduct strip searches of pretrial detainees who enter the general population in a jail or prison, even if they have been arrested for nonviolent or minor offenses. (Id. at pp. 1522-1523.) "The seriousness of an offense is a poor predictor of who has contraband ...," and "people detained for minor offenses can turn out to be the most devious and dangerous criminals. " (Id. at p. 1520.) "There is a substantial interest in preventing any new inmate, either of his own will or as a result of coercion, from putting all who live or work at these institutions at even greater risk when he is admitted to the general population." (Ibid.) Florence held the key question is not whether the detainee has been charged with a minor, nonviolent offense, but whether the detainee has been classified for housing in the custodial facility's general population at the time of the strip search. The court concluded that requiring individualized suspicion would undermine the ability of custodial officers to maintain the security of the facility. (Florence, supra, 132 S.Ct. at pp. 1522-1523.)