-Caveat Lector- http://www.argusleader.com/news/Sundayfeature.shtml Curfew violators strip-searched By M. KIBIGER and P. LALLEY 1999 Argus Leader published: 9/5/99 Teen-agers who violate Sioux Falls' 11 p.m. curfew law are routinely handcuffed, strip searched and questioned about their religious affiliation and how often they go to church. To save officers time on the street, police take nearly all curfew violators to the Minnehaha County Juvenile Detention Center where they are strip searched -- whether they stole a car or stayed out too late. Sioux Falls police quietly decided this summer to take more curfew offenders to the detention center to get a handle on the growing number of teens hanging out along the 12-block area of downtown called "The Loop." But civil libertarians and the parents of a Minnesota girl picked up for curfew say the strip searches are a violation of fundamental rights. "If you're arresting somebody just for a curfew violation, that (a strip search) is an outrage," says Stephen Pevar, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union. Adds Randy Smook of Luverne, Minn., whose 16-year-old daughter recently was run through the system: "I think they carried it too far." On Aug. 8, Jodie Smook was riding with her friend Kristen Homandberg, now 18, of Pipestone, Minn. Shortly after 10:30 p.m., Homandberg stopped her car in the parking lot of an apartment complex in southwestern Sioux Falls after the vehicle's oil light came on. They called two girlfriends from Brandon, asking for a ride in case they had to leave the car. A little after midnight the four girls had poured oil in Homandberg's vehicle and were ready to head home, Smook says, when a police car rolled into the lot with lights flashing. Smook and Homandberg expected to get a citation and be sent home with their parents. That was the drill in June, when Smook paid $78 for violating curfew. Not this time. The officer called the parents of one of the Brandon girls, Smook says, but there was no answer. Smook insists that the officer did not make calls to the other parents. Instead, she says, he cuffed all four girls and took them to the detention center at 4200 S. West Ave. There, the girls were asked a series of questions about their medical history -- including whether they were pregnant or carried sexually transmitted diseases. They also were quizzed about what church they attended and how often they went to services. And Smook says she had to explain if she looked more like her mother or her father. Separately, the four girls were taken into a bathroom with a female officer and told to take off their clothes. "It was like a McDonald's bathroom floor," Smook recalls. "It was cold, it was freezing in there." A student at Luverne High School who works part time at a nursing home, Smook says she removed her khaki pants and T-shirt. Standing in her underwear, Smook watched while the officer searched Smook's clothes, turning them inside out. "I wasn't scared," Smook explains. "I was just pissed. The way they were treating us was like we had just killed somebody." After the search, the girls were allowed to get dressed. They were kept in a holding facility. Initially, Smook says, they were told the center couldn't contact the Minnesota girls' parents because it's a long-distance phone call. Later a supervisor was contacted for authorization and the calls were made. The phone rang at the Smook residence about 2 a.m. Randy Smook notes that while his daughter was in Sioux Falls getting picked up for curfew, he and his wife Vicky were getting ready for bed. "It (the strip-search) was all done before we were even called," says Randy Smook. "We were home the whole time." Law always changing Sioux Falls' curfew policy has undergone many revisions during the 1990s. Officials say the city has had a curfew as long as they can remember, and documents show it dates back to at least 1957. For many years, 17-year-olds could be out later than other teens, but everyone still had to be home by midnight. In 1992, city officials made the curfew uniform so it was easier for teens to understand and for officers to enforce. That was followed by vigorous enforcement of the law, which caused another problem. The juvenile court system became clogged with curfew offenders, who were required to make an appearance. So in 1995, police started issuing $80 tickets for violations under an agreement with the Minnehaha County State's Attorney's office and court officials. Teens then had the option of paying the ticket or making a court appearance. Along with issuing the ticket, officers would hold the teen until the parents could be contacted. About three years ago, the expanded detention center began acting as a holding facility for some curfew violators when police weren't able to reach parents. But in recent months, police began taking nearly all curfew offenders to the center, says Capt. Tom Olsen of the Sioux Falls Police Department. "It's a time savings for us," Olsen explains. Tracking down parents of teens who violate the 11 p.m. curfew can often take hours, Olsen notes. And he doesn't want officers taken away from calls just to sit and watch kids. The new policy does more than keep officers on the street, he insists. It makes enforcement of curfew more consistent, so there's less chance for misunderstandings and abuses. Olsen is not concerned about strip-searches, noting that the curfew ordinance is intended to send a strong, clear message to parents and teens. Current city curfew law says anyone under 18 must be off the streets from 11 p.m. to 4 a.m., with the following exceptions: If the teen is running an emergency errand or other necessary errand as dictated by a parent or guardian. If the teen is returning home from work, an official school event or a church function. If the teen is accompanied by their parent, guardian, or another responsible adult. Police say they can use some discretion in these situations. Usually, teens involved in one of the above exceptions will not receive a curfew citation. However, if the teen both works and lives in the southern part of Sioux Falls, and an officer stops him or her on the Loop, they're going to receive a citation. During all of 1998, police sent 234 juveniles to the Juvenile Detention center for curfew violations. Through July of this year, the center had admitted 210 curfew violators. Center officials say those curfew violators may also have committed other crimes. Policy a matter of safety Police and detention center officials would not comment on the incident involving Smook, Homandberg and the Brandon girls. If the girls were having car trouble, that might have been something officers could have overlooked, Olsen says. But he trusts the officer's judgment. "Do we always make the perfect call?" Olsen asks. "Maybe not." Jim Banbury, director of the detention center, says he was not told the police were bringing in nearly all the teens. If that's the case, he says he may have to change staffing at the center. While all juveniles go through the same intake procedure, the less serious offenses such as curfew aren't held in the secure holding area, he says. The strip-search policy is a matter of safety, says Banbury. Staff members don't know the state of mind of the juvenile or whether they have knives or other weapons. "I would prefer to explain the policy of strip-searching than to have to take a call asking, 'Why did that child commit suicide under your care?' " he says. The staff also has to make sure the teen isn't a runaway, particularly when he or she is from another state, Banbury says. "I understand a child's perspective because it's not the most pleasant experience," he adds. "But then again, don't break the law. Don't be out after 11 o'clock." But Banbury admits he doesn't know why the center questions juveniles about their religious affiliation and how often they attend. Staff members ask teens a long list of personal and medical questions during the intake interview and religion has always been included, he says. "It never came up before to be honest," he says. "Those are just statistical data that someone at some time used to collect. It serves no purpose today." Bob Kolbe, chairman of the Minnehaha County Commission, was not aware that Sioux Falls police were taking more curfew violators to the county-operated detention center. Kolbe understands the necessity of strict policies at the detention center, including strip-searching. But it is worth reviewing what activities land a teen in the detention center, he said. "It could be like anything that comes about, that has grown step by step," he says. "It wasn't instituted as a total policy, in one fell swoop." Nor should it have been, says Pevar, the ACLU lawyer in Denver. He contends that a blanket policy of strip-searching violates the Fourth Amendment, which protects citizens from unreasonable searches and seizures. A few years ago, he filed a lawsuit on behalf of a woman arrested for a minor traffic offense and taken to a jail in Idaho. She was strip-searched, according to policy, but Pevar argued that jail officials had no reason to believe she was hiding any weapons or drugs, and therefore violated her rights when they searched her. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled there must be reasonable suspicion that contraband will be found in order to legally conduct such a search. Other courts have adopted the standard, he notes. And for a juvenile facility, the standard should be even higher because of the need for parental consent, Pevar says. Such strip-searching policies are virtually unheard of, he adds. Minnehaha County State's Attorney Dave Nelson says he wasn't involved in the formulation of the strip-search policy. But in general, it is constitutional to conduct searches when someone is taken into custody. "It is lawful to take steps to provide for the security of the institution," he says. Randy and Vicky Smook say they understand the need to control kids on the Loop. But their daughter wasn't on the Loop when she was stopped. And she won't be spending her spare time at night in Sioux Falls unsupervised, they say. "She wanted to go to the (Sioux Empire) fair and we said, 'Absolutely not,' " Vicky Smook adds. "It's too much of a risk." back to top back to start All content Copyright © 1997-1999 by Argus Leader. All rights reserved. ArgusNET is a registered trademark ® of the Argus Leader. Use of this site signifies your agreement to the Terms of Servic -- ----------------------- NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml ----------------------- DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. 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