Rastafarian woman “humiliated” by police strip order

14 comments
  1. So basically, if you do not comply with what we demand, we will use our powers to completely humiliate you.

    There is a horrible culture within the police which really, really has to change.

  2. I am happy she managed to successfully sue them (and managed to leave the country). There are two massive issues here:

    > “I could have been a Jewish woman. I could have been a Muslim woman. To me that looked like a teenager’s outfit. That just shows they wanted to humiliate me – they did humiliate me,” she said.

    Regardless of age, race, gender, forcing anyone to wear skimpy clothing is gross and dehumanising. She is totally correct and this shit needs to be investigated properly.

    > Ms Farrell said officers said they were taking her clothes because she would not tell them who she was.

    This is the worst of the two. It now sounds like the police can pull anyone off of the street and find absolutely any excuse to get them to strip naked. Which is just sexual abuse.

  3. Before people start claiming otherwise.
    Stop and question: police powers
    A police officer might stop you and ask:

    what your name is
    what you’re doing in the area
    where you’re going
    You don’t have to stop or answer any questions. If you don’t and there’s no other reason to suspect you, then this alone can’t be used as a reason to search or arrest you.

    Stop and search: police powers
    A police officer has powers to stop and search you if they have ‘reasonable grounds’ to suspect you’re carrying:

    illegal drugs
    a weapon
    stolen property
    something which could be used to commit a crime, such as a crowbar
    You can only be stopped and searched without reasonable grounds if it has been approved by a senior police officer. This can happen if it is suspected that:

    serious violence could take place
    you’re carrying a weapon or have used one
    you’re in a specific location or area
    Before you’re searched
    Before you’re searched the police officer must tell you:

    their name and police station
    what they expect to find, for example drugs
    the reason they want to search you, for example if it looks like you’re hiding something
    why they are legally allowed to search you
    that you can have a record of the search and if this isn’t possible at the time, how you can get a copy
    Removing clothing: police powers
    A police officer can ask you to take off your coat, jacket or gloves.

    The police might ask you to take off other clothes and anything you’re wearing for religious reasons – for example a veil or turban. If they do, they must take you somewhere out of public view.

    If the officer wants to remove more than a jacket and gloves they must be the same sex as you.

    Being searched doesn’t mean you’re being arrested

  4. The saddest part is that this really is nothing new. It’s just that in light of recent events, and the lower trust in those in power – both government and police – people are taking these stories more seriously, and rightly so. About time.

  5. If you refuse to provide your details whilst in police custody they will treat you as high risk and not let you remain in your own clothes in case you hurt yourself.

    It’s the same for the white man, so why should it be any different if you’re a woman, black, rastafarian, anything…

    I wonder what reddit’s comments would be saying if this idiot hung herself in her cell with her clothing.

  6. So, basically they sexually humiliated her for being “uppity”?

    Not giving your name is not a good enough reason to have your clothes forcibly removed, especially when you have been arrested for incredibly flimsy reasons. This is the second case of a woman being assaulted this way that I’ve read recently and it needs to fucking stop.

  7. > She was asked to remove her clothing, with a replacement “crop top and hot pants” left in the cell.

    True evil, absolutely alarming that any police officer could do this.

  8. Giving gangs who send rape “jokes” to each other the power to compel vulnerable women to undress.

    What sort of sick in the head fucker thinks that’s actually a good idea?

  9. Senior officers say they ‘need greater understanding of minority groups’
    Hmm I’ll be honest I don’t think it’s ok to let anyone, especially a woman, sit naked in a cell for 3 hours.
    Pure power play, this is such a common characteristic of people who become police officers

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