JAIL SEARCHES COST AGAIN

Jail Searches Cost Again

Considering that five years ago it cost the city $50 million to settle a suit concerning illegal strip-searches in the jail system, it was astonishing to learn earlier this month that it is on the hook for as much as $10 million more for a recurrence of the practice.

A spokesman for Correction Commissioner Martin Horn contended he was in the dark about what had occurred until a few months ago, believing that the agency had changed its practice and was no longer routinely strip-searching detainees charged with misdemeanor offenses.

We would have figured, given the cost to the city - and given the fact that the Bloomberg administration had to pick up the tab for Giuliani-era abuses at a time when it did not have lots of extra cash to throw around - that there would have been greater vigilance at the top. We wonder why the Law Department, as well as Mr. Horn, wasn't monitoring the situation more closely to ensure that a new policy was properly implemented.

Correction union officials said the problem highlighted a lack of communication or accountability. But Correction Officers Benevolent Association President Norman Seabrook also suggested the changed policy should be re-examined because of its blanket prohibition of strip- searches of misdemeanor offenders unless there is reasonable suspicion.

He pointed out that more than a few inmates charged with misdemeanors have previously been convicted of violent felonies. Their past histories, Mr. Seabrook said, makes it risky not to strip-search them just because they are locked up for lesser offenses.

That is a valid point, one the city should be considering as it revisits a procedure that fell through the cracks at a steep price.