A
strip search is a practice of
searching a person for weapons or other
contraband suspected of being hidden on their body or inside their clothing, and not found by performing a
frisk search, by requiring the person to remove some or all of his or her clothing. The search may involve an official performing an
Intimate Person Search and inspecting their personal effects and body cavities (mouth, vagina, anus etc.). A strip search is more intrusive than a frisk and requires legal authority. Regulations covering strip searches vary considerably, and may be mandatory in some situations or discretionary in others.