SF4949

Purpose

This bill aims to limit the use of strip searches in state correctional facilities by promoting alternatives that are less invasive. It creates a pathway to use body scanners or other minimally invasive screening methods when incarcerated people meet with visitors, and it restricts when a strip search can be conducted.

Main Provisions

• Adds a new subdivision to Minnesota Statutes 2024 section 243.48.
• The chief executive officer of a state correctional facility may, under rules adopted by the commissioner, authorize the use of a body scanner or other minimally invasive methods to screen an incarcerated person before or after a meeting with a visitor.
• A strip search of an incarcerated person before or after a meeting with a visitor is prohibited unless there is a credible documented security concern to justify a strip search.

What Changes This Bill Makes

• Establishes body scanners or minimally invasive screening as the preferred method for screening during visit-related interactions.
• Prohibits strip searches in standard visit scenarios unless there is a credible documented security concern.
• Shifts decision-making authority to facility leadership (with rules from the commissioner) to determine when and how screening occurs.

Implementation and Oversight

• Authority to authorize screening methods rests with the facility’s chief executive officer, but it must operate under rules adopted by the commissioner.
• Changes affect the existing law in Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 243.48, by adding a new subdivision outlining these procedures.

Potential Implications

• Increased privacy and dignity for incarcerated individuals during visit-related interactions.
• Requirement for credible, documented security concerns to justify any strip searches.
• Clearer, standardized approach to screening that emphasizes minimally invasive methods.

Relevant Terms body scanner minimally invasive strip search incarcerated person state correctional facility chief executive officer commissioner credible documented security concern meeting with a visitor Minnesota Statutes 2024 section 243.48 Subdivision (Subd. 3)