2. SAFETY, SECURITY AND DIGNITY FOR ALL 2.2. SEARCH AND ENTRY PROCEDURES FOR VISITORS RELEVANT RULES: SEARCH AND ENTRY PROCEDURES FOR VISITORS Rule 60: 2. Search and entry procedures for visitors shall not be 1. Admission of visitors to the prison facility is degrading and shall be governed by principles at least contingent upon the visitor’s consent to being searched. as protective as those outlined in rules 50 to 52. Body The visitor may withdraw his or her consent at any cavity searches should be avoided and should not be time, in which case the prison administration may applied to children. refuse access. WHY IS IT IMPORTANT? 2 54 It may be necessary to search prison visitors in order to safeguard the security of the facility. Visitors may be searched in order to prevent prohibited items from being smuggled into the prison. 55 Visitors are not prisoners and hence are not subject to prison rules. This means they can never be forced to undergo searches, even though prison management may make access to the prison subject to certain rules. The search protocol for visitors needs to be at least as strict as for prisoners. 56 Prison visitors are likely to feel intimidated, humiliated and scared, especially during their first visit, and it is likely that one of their first interactions with prison staff will be in the context of personal searches. Visitors are likely to find search procedures intrusive and degrading, and only accept them because they are a precondition to visiting the prison. 57 Given the importance for prisoners of receiving visits in terms of a prisoner’s wellbeing and eventual rehabilitation, staff should be aware that a negative experience of search procedures may deter visitors from returning for future visits. 58 If visitors have positive interactions with prison staff, including during search procedures, overall staff-prisoner relations are likely to improve. On the other hand, if visitors tell prisoners about humiliating experiences with staff during search procedures, the level of trust between prisoners and staff is likely to deteriorate. PUTTING IT INTO PRACTICE Safeguards 59 Rule 60(2) notes that search and entry procedures for visitors must be at least as protective as the procedures outlined for prisoners themselves (Rules 50-52). Visitors must never be treated as prisoners, and prison staff should be particularly sensitive with visiting children. Search procedures should be properly supervised to check they are being applied fairly and consistently. 60 Searches must only be applied based on the principles of legality, necessity and proportionality. Where searches are necessary, they must be carried out in a manner that demonstrates due respect of the inherent dignity and privacy of visitors. 61 Searches can never be forced upon visitors, who can withdraw their consent to being searched at any time, as Rule 60(1) sets out. The only permissible reaction to a visitor refusing to be searched is to refuse them entry to the prison facility. However, refusing Guidance document on the Nelson Mandela Rules 65