2. SAFETY, SECURITY AND DIGNITY FOR ALL 09 Generally, there are three main types of body searches: pat down or frisk searches, strip searches and body cavity searches.104 Other types of searches include cell searches and searches of the prisoner’s property. Searches carried out with the assistance of dogs may reduce the use of intrusive searches, but, depending on social and cultural context, can be even more degrading and threatening. Dogs should never be present during strip or body cavity searches. —— Pat down searches, sometimes known as frisk searches, are performed over clothing, and require physical contact, but no nudity. It may sometimes be useful to randomize such searches to ensure that they work well as a preventative measure for smuggling items, while also providing protection against any claims that searches are conducted in a discriminatory manner, targeting only certain individuals or a specific group of prisoners. Strip searches should never require the person undergoing the search to be fully naked at any one time, to avoid the potential for humiliation. Such searches can, for example, be carried out in two steps, with the upper and lower clothes being removed in separate stages so the prisoner does not have to be fully naked in front of prison staff at any one time. 2 —— Strip searches involve the removal or reorganization of some or all clothing. Strip searches do not usually require physical contact but all parts of the body can be inspected, including areas such as the mouth and genital areas where contraband items could be hidden. It should be noted that whereas body cavity searches are often more tightly regulated than strip searches, strip searches can also be intrusive and humiliating, especially when they involve inspection of body orifices. —— Body cavity searches are the most intrusive form of body search and involve a physical examination of body orifices, such as the vagina and anus. Cavity searches are often referred to as invasive or intimate searches.105 Prison staff themselves often find it unpleasant to conduct such searches. Health-care staff should examine prisoners after body-cavity searches, and pay close attention to the potential physical and psychological consequences of such procedures. —— Cell searches involve inspecting a detainee’s cell for evidence of contraband items. Cell searches invade the personal space and privacy of prisoners and there is a risk of property being damaged during such searches. When searches are conducted by a single staff member there is also a heightened risk of ill‑treatment. When conducting searches of a prisoner’s cell or belongings, staff should bear in mind that the cell is the prisoner’s home, and that their belongings may hold particular importance to them. They should, therefore, treat the space and belongings with care and respect. In women’s prisons, male guards need to be accompanied by female guards for cell searches, in accordance with Rule 81(2). PROMISING PRACTICE: RELIGIOUS AND CULTURALLY APPROPRIATE SEARCHES [2.2] Prison Service instructions in England and Wales contain specific provisions on religious and cultural arrangements for searching prisoners. These include guidelines on strip searches of Muslims and procedures for searching prisoners that have religious or cultural headwear.106 In Canada, if prison authorities need to search Aboriginal medicine bundles, religious and spiritual or other sacred objects, the owner is allowed to hold the object for visual inspection. If the owner is not present then an Elder, an Elder’s representative or a religious representative can inspect or manipulate the contents for inspection. These procedures are specifically set out in the Commissoner’s Directive on Searching Offenders.107 104 105 106 107 104. For more details on body searches, see: Body searches: Addressing risk factors to prevent torture and ill‑treatment, PRI/APT, Penal Reform International/Association for the Prevention of Torture, second edition, 2015. 105. Ibid, p. 1. 106. For more information, see: www.justice.gov.uk/offenders/psis. 107. For more information, see: www.csc-scc.gc.ca/politiques-et-lois/566-7-cd-eng.shtml. Guidance document on the Nelson Mandela Rules 57