2. SAFETY, SECURITY AND DIGNITY FOR ALL Location of searches 30 Strip and cavity searches must be carried out in sanitary conditions and in privacy, in a space that is out of view of other prisoners or staff members, but that is not isolated. Expert criminal justice planners and designers have emphasized that the design of search areas “must balance visual privacy and security considerations without provoking a sense of feeling trapped or victimized”.126 With this in mind, the use of curtains and other methods of screening within an open room might be more appropriate than a closed or locked door. The search room or area itself should not be located in an isolated part of the prison facility. 31 Where men and women are held in separate parts of one prison, there should still be separate search rooms for them. At a minimum, men and women must never be taken to the search area at the same time. The same principle applies for adults and children in prison. Staff training and supervision All staff involved in security procedures should be fully trained in conducting body and cell searches. They should be aware of what types of searches are permissible in a given situation, how to assess the necessity and proportionality of searches, how to determine the most appropriate form of search in each case, how to explain search procedures to prisoners and how to carry out a search with respect for privacy and dignity. 33 Relevant staff should also be trained on the heightened vulnerabilities faced by particular groups in relation to searches. This training should include considerations with regard to gender, culture and religion and any specific protocols for search procedures relevant for different groups. This might include, but is not limited to, the situation of women, children in prison, LGBTI individuals and indigenous peoples. It might also include religious and cultural arrangements for searching prisoners. 34 PRI and the Association for the Prevention of Torture (APT) have noted that “[t]he video-recording of strip searches as a safeguard and to allow for accountability has been subject to debate, as while it has the potential to prevent abuse, at the same time it infringes a person’s right to privacy and dignity.”127 Where a video recording is made, appropriate safeguards must be in place to protect the privacy and dignity of a prisoner. 2 32 62 PROMISING PRACTICE: SAFEGUARDS EMPLOYED WHEN RECORDING STRIP SEARCHES IN CANADA [2.6] In Canada strip searches are video recorded with the following safeguards in place to protect the privacy and dignity of the prisoner: – Staff are required to ensure that prisoners diagnosed with gender dysphoria are accommodated for according to their safety and – Two staff members conduct the strip search (the privacy needs; and camera operator is not considered one of them); – The camera operator video-records the strip search in such a way that staff members – A privacy barrier such as a half-wall, privacy curtain, or portable barrier is used to prevent the performing the search and the prisoner are filmed simultaneously, while respecting the recording of the genitalia of the prisoner; privacy and dignity of the prisoner. In the event – Only one of the correctional officers conducts that this is not possible, the camera operator is the search and gives instructions to the prisoner; instructed to fully capture on video the officers – All staff members involved, including the camera conducting the strip search. operator, are of the same sex as the prisoner; 126 127 126. Laura Maiello and Stephen Carter, ‘Minus the urinals and painted pink?’ What should a women’s prison look like?, Penal Reform International blog, 9 December 2015 at www.penalreform.org/blog/10020. 127. See: Video-recording in police custody: Addressing factors to prevent torture and ill‑treatment, Penal Reform International/Association for the Prevention of Torture, second edition, 2015. Guidance document on the Nelson Mandela Rules