Intimate searches

Section 55 of PACE gives police the power to conduct intimate searches of a susp
ect,
which means searches of the body s orifices. Such a search must be authorised by a
superintendent, who must have reasonable grounds for believing that a weapon or
drug is concealed, and must be carried out by a registered health care professio
nal.
The safeguards on the use of this power caused problems for the police when conf
ronted
with drug dealers. The dealers frequently stored drugs in their mouths, knowing
that search of the mouth was regarded as an intimate search needing to be carrie
d
out by a member of the medical profession with special authorisation. To address
this
problem, s. 65 of PACE, as amended by the CJPOA 1994, now provides that a search
of
the mouth is not an intimate search.
The Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000 allows the compulsory drug test
ing
of alleged offenders.