Title 28

SECTION 115.115

115.115 Limits to cross-gender viewing and searches.

§ 115.115 Limits to cross-gender viewing and searches.

(a) The lockup shall not conduct cross-gender strip searches or cross-gender visual body cavity searches (meaning a search of the anal or genital opening) except in exigent circumstances or when performed by medical practitioners.

(b) The lockup shall document all cross-gender strip searches and cross-gender visual body cavity searches.

(c) The lockup shall implement policies and procedures that enable detainees to shower, perform bodily functions, and change clothing without nonmedical staff of the opposite gender viewing their breasts, buttocks, or genitalia, except in exigent circumstances or when such viewing is incidental to routine cell checks. Such policies and procedures shall require staff of the opposite gender to announce their presence when entering an area where detainees are likely to be showering, performing bodily functions, or changing clothing.

(d) The lockup shall not search or physically examine a transgender or intersex detainee for the sole purpose of determining the detainee's genital status. If the detainee's genital status is unknown, it may be determined during conversations with the detainee, by reviewing medical records, or, if necessary, by learning that information as part of a broader medical examination conducted in private by a medical practitioner.

(e) The agency shall train law enforcement staff in how to conduct cross-gender pat-down searches, and searches of transgender and intersex detainees, in a professional and respectful manner, and in the least intrusive manner possible, consistent with security needs.

---