New York’s highest court ruled on Thursday that police departments cannot use general warrants that apply to a specific location to search every person they find there unless there is probable cause to believe that a particular person is involved in criminal activity.

While the decision, which was unanimous, arose from a case in Syracuse, the ruling could have broad implications because “all-persons-present” warrants are so often used by the police.

Asked about the decision, Paul J. Browne, the New York Police Department’s chief spokesman, said, “We’re waiting for the department lawyers to review it, to see what the implications may be for the Police Department.”

In its 7-to-0 ruling, the New York Court of Appeals said that an all-persons-present warrant used by the police in Syracuse during a drug raid at an apartment in 2006 did not give them enough evidence to strip-search a man who was in the home. The court ordered the dismissal of drug possession charges that the man, Robert Mothersell, had been facing.