The Herald, Sharon, Pa.

Local News

October 24, 2012

More strip searches allowed

Weapons, drugs can be hidden

By Sandy Scarmack Herald Staff Writer

MERCER COUNTY — For the safety of all inmates and the staff at the Mercer County Jail in Findley Township, the county prison board amended its policy to allow for strip searches of pretrial inmates regardless of the severity of the crime or any reasonable suspicion that they may be carrying contraband.

Warden Jeffrey Gill said the action follows a Supreme Court ruling in April, where a divided court ruled in favor of allowing the searches, even if there is no obviously visible cause for suspicion. The case came before the Supreme Court after a New Jersey man complained he was twice subjected to a humiliating strip search after being wrongly jailed for an unpaid parking ticket.

“You just can’t tell by looking when they come in who might be carrying a weapon or hiding drugs. Strip searches are a very important part of the jail process. If I don’t know what they are carrying in, how can I maintain security?” Gill said.

The searches aren’t new, and the change applies only to pretrial inmates, Gill said. Inmates who are already found guilty and incarcerated are routinely strip searched. The searches are not physical, only visual, but require inmates to be naked.

Over the years, Gill and his staff have collected a showcase of things found during searches. “It’s unbelievable. There are things like knives and drugs hidden in people’s hair and mouth, but some of the other things you can’t imagine,” he said.

He described toilet paper being weaved into a rope, a newspaper rolled tightly enough to inflict harm and all sorts of metal pieces forged into weapons.

The searches apply to those inmates who leave and return under the work-release program, as well, said Tom Amundsen, president of the prison board. In cases like that, Gill added, guards are looking for tobacco and food products that while not criminal are nonetheless banned.

While the jail is a smoke-free facility, it goes beyond just the possession of tobacco, he added. “It’s what they use to light those cigarettes. Since they don’t have access to a lighter they will stick wires into a receptacle or use steel wool and batteries. It’s kind of amazing.”

In other business, Gill told the board Tuesday that he and employees of the sheriff’s department have been assisting local police with suspects who are admitted to the hospital, rather than being transported directly to the lockup. In some cases, after a bad fight or a car accident where a suspect is injured, medical complaints force local police to take them to the hospital. Guarding inmates in the hospital, he said, involves overtime and staffing that many local police departments do not have.

“We’re trying to help them out with that, and I just wanted the board to be aware of it,” Gill said. It happens four or five times a year, he said.

Inmates end up in the hospital for a variety of reasons, but one common perception, according to District Attorney Robert Kochems is the fear of drug withdrawal. “Often when they are arrested they are facing withdrawal in a few days and they anticipate being sick, so they want to be taken to the hospital,” he said.

Gill said the prison is able to handle detoxification from alcohol and drugs in-house. “My rule is that they go to the hospital if they can’t walk or talk,” he said.

He also told the board that the prison population is on the decline, a typical event for the end of the year. The prison housed 285 inmates in September, the highest for the year, he added.

Gill also reported that 12 inmates completed a GED, or general educational development test, in the last year and that he was pleased with the efforts his staff makes to provide two important aspects of rehabilitation – an education and a job.

County Commissioner Chairman John Lechner responded, “That’s great. Education is the key to so much.”

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