Invasive searches: penile washings, bodily examinations, and other investigative considerations for sex‐related offences

Abstract

Foreign material, debris, blood, saliva, hair, and other biological material found on the male penis have long served as indicators of recent sexual intercourse in forensic investigations. However, the legality and process of recovering this evidence from the suspect's penis has received no attention from the academic community, the courts, or law enforcement agencies in Canada until recently. As a result, this paper attempts to review the literature and case law that does exist surrounding the historical use of penile swabs in sexual assault investigations in the USA and Europe and the current use of this technique in Canada by the Winnipeg Police Service.