Well, first the search is now available for the 'leechers'. (In fact, it has been since like the 3rd day of implementing the leecher status.)
Of course this is a bad-or-bad scenario. If they can use it, it will cut down on spam and/or rep posts, but people can use it to 'steal' from this site. (BTW you can always use google on this site specifically).
Or it could be disabled, which of course means constant re-threads and bitching about not having the search.
How about you trust in the admins of the forum, they implemented this for a reason, and if they feel that a certain group is acceped/denied a particular access, then obviously it's for the best interest (not only for the group, but bandwidth can get costly)