CAT/OP/CRI/CSPRO/1 Search and inspection procedures (para. 78) 117. The legal provisions governing personal search and inspection procedures are set out clearly in the Criminal Code and the national prison system regulations. These procedures are applied to persons visiting prisons, persons deprived of liberty and personnel working in prisons. Goods and items brought into prisons are also subject to inspection. Search and inspection procedures play a fundamental role in maintaining order and institutional security in prisons. 118. Personal searches are preventive in nature and are intended to ensure personal safety and compliance with the regulations in force. They involve the inspection of clothing, which may require the loosening of certain items of clothing or the removal of outer garments, and are performed on visitors, persons deprived of liberty and prison staff. A pat-down is performed on the covered parts of the person’s body in order to make sure that he or she is not carrying anything that could put prison security at risk. 119. Personal searches must be carried out with full respect for the person’s dignity. In no event may the person be required to undergo a search of his or her private parts or to undress. 120. Inspections, on the other hand, are punitive in nature and are performed on an exceptional basis in order to detect prohibited items. Prison officers are authorized to perform personal inspections if there are sufficient grounds to believe that a person is hiding belongings in his or her clothing or has unauthorized items attached to his or her body. 121. According to the Code of Criminal Procedure, inspections must be carried out in individual cubicles designed for that purpose, men and women may not be searched in the same space, and inspections must be performed by an official of the same sex as the person being searched. A witness must be designated before the inspection is carried out and, in the presence of that witness, the person subject to the inspection must be informed that he or she is about to be searched. 122. An inspection report reflecting the above must be drawn up. Any objects found during the search must be confiscated and a record of the confiscation and a report must be filed. If nothing is found during the search, the details of the case are recorded in an inspection report, which is subsequently kept on file at police headquarters. 123. The use of violence during search and inspection procedures is illegal and may constitute an offence. Any person who believes that his or her rights were infringed during a search or inspection procedure may take appropriate action before the competent authorities. As mentioned earlier in the present report, there are plans to develop a protocol to allow persons deprived of liberty to file complaints with the courts without undue procedural delays. 124. Searches and inspections are performed by qualified police personnel who have been duly trained to carry out their duties with full respect for the physical and emotional integrity of the person subject to the procedure. 125. As a result of the effective implementation of technological resources, some prisons are now equipped with devices capable of detecting prohibited objects and substances. These devices include X-ray machines, body scanners and handheld metal detectors, as well as video surveillance systems that can be used to detect activities that may jeopardize prison security. Thanks to their advanced technology, these devices are less physically invasive for visitors and detainees. Securing institutional resources and external donations in order to acquire more such devices has therefore been made a priority. Rehabilitation programmes (para. 81) 126. The comprehensive rehabilitation unit model is a new system being applied in Costa Rican prisons that makes use of improved facilities and employs substantially different technical and professional techniques in the treatment of prisoners. The units operate according to a regime which successfully incorporates educational, cultural, sporting and leisure activities and which, over time, has established itself within the prison system as an effective reintegration mechanism. Work is currently under way on a mechanism to measure the results achieved by the comprehensive rehabilitation units in order to try to replicate those GE.20-17766 15