Kids strip-searched at day camp

wave3.com ^ | 08/09/07 | AP

[TornadoAlley3]

Summer day camp strip-search

(NBC NEWS CHANNEL) -- Parents are outraged in an Indiana community after they learned their young children were strip-searched at a summer day camp.

Mothers like April Hinton want answers tonight.

Hinton says "had our children not talked to us we would not have even known about it."

She says when she talked to the director of the summer camp here at this East Chicago, Indiana rec center she wasn't given a great answer.

April says "she says she was not aware that she could not do that. And I told her you feel that it's ok to undress people's children without the consent of their parents. And she said I was not aware that it was wrong."

He wouldn't go on camera, but one of the men accused of performing the strip search talked off camera telling us he took the group of boys to the bathroom and told them to "shake their pants" because $140 dollars had gone missing.

One of the boys who was stripped search said "he didn't even say shake your When asked if they felt uncomfortable, the boy said "yes, but I didn't want him to think that I had the money, that I was a thief."

The city of East Chicago is currently investigating the incident.

Officials have suspended the two men accused of conducting the strip search and the executive director of the camp who reportedly ordered it.

[Joe Boucher]

Was John Edwards the camp director?

[DCPatriot]

Speechless....

[mtbopfuyn]

Background checks?

[T.Smith]

That’s a lot of money to have missing. If there was a reasonable suspicion that one of these boys took it, I have no problem with this. Provided, of course, that the boys weren’t helped out of their clothes. The article doesn’t give one the sense that that is the case.

[LIConFem]

"April says "she says she was not aware that she could not do that. And I told her you feel that it's ok to undress people's children without the consent of their parents. And she said I was not aware that it was wrong."

To which I would have responded:

*boom*

I was not aware that it was loaded.

[DB]

Well I would.

And so would most other parents.

[rockinqsranch]

Strip search the Camp Officials.

Nevermind...they might like it.

[LIConFem]

$140.00 missing is cause enough for a complete stranger to strip-search your kids? How 'bout calling the parents and letting them go through the kids' pockets?

[ml/nj]

Big Deal!

Maybe things have changed over the years, and maybe it's different for the girls. I don't know. But when I was a day camp counsellor for young boys they stripped four times a day. (Into and out of bathing suits twice a day.) And when I went swimming at Boy Scout camp we didn't wear anything at all.

I suppose it's different to be searched, but to claim shock at kids being undressed at camp is just a bit much.

ML/NJ

[RangerM]

I admit I don’t know the whole story, but there is a distinct difference between:

Stripping to get dressed (appropriately) for some camp activity

Being forced to strip.

[netmilsmom]

Personally, I would have kept the kids in a room and called the Police and parents. I suspect that with the threat of Higher Authority, the 140.00 would have shown up.

[Wolfie]

I think we’re going to have to start teaching our kids to lawyer up.

[Homer1]

bizarre. How does $140 on cash go missing at a a kids day camp? Why suspect the kids? These are kids...they probably could have gotten a confession without resorting to such horrific tactics.

My opinion: shut the camp down and consider taking action against any licenses or certifications that the employees of this camp may have. These people should not be allowed to have this much responsibility regarding children.

[TornadoAlley3]

No, call the cops and let the cops do the search, if they are juveniles their parents should be notified by police before strip searched. Using your logic, should school teachers e able to strip search students just because they suspect a student has stolen something?

[Sloth]

If there was a reasonable suspicion that one of these boys took it, I have no problem with this.

There is reason to believe that there are some jihadists in our nation of 300 million. That does not grant the government carte blanche to record everyone's phone calls, search everyone's house, strip-search everyone, etc.

These camp people should call the police and let them handle it.

[T.Smith]

Funny. The last time there was an article posted here about the police being called for something on this level, the entire site was in a frenzy about it being overkill. Now everybody on this thread wants to call the police.

Total lunacy.

[T.Smith]

"There is reason to believe that there are some jihadists in our nation of 300 million. That does not grant the government carte blanche to record everyone's phone calls, search everyone's house, strip-search everyone, etc."

That's a good point, because these situations are totally comparable. Not!

[yldstrk]

Dumb counselors should have put their money away.

[TornadoAlley3]

Could you post a link to the previous thread about children being strip searched, I missed it. Thanks.