Report of the Commissioner for Human Rights on the activities of the National Mechanism for the Prevention of Torture in Poland in 2017 3. Prisoners’ body searches should be subject to court’s assessment The Prison Service officers sometimes have to perform body searches on prisoners in order to make sure that they are not in possession of any prohibited or dangerous items. It is, however, important to use that measure in a professional manner while exercising caution and respecting individual’s dignity. The decision to perform a search should result from the analysis of individual circumstances. Otherwise, a body search may turn into a means of oppression and be considered as manifestation of degrading treatment. During the search the prisoner has to take off his/her clothes and in some cases also squat to allow the officer inspect his/her natural body orifices. The officer should also have the possibility to inspect prisoner’s clothing, underwear, footwear and personal belongings.58 Pursuant to Polish regulations prisoner’s body search may be performed at any time. The decision in that regard is made by the prison’s director and the prisoner is obliged to conform. Lack of cooperation on the part of the detainee may result in direct coercion measures being used against him/her. It may also lead to disciplinary consequences. If the director decides to subject the prisoner to a search, it is not a decision that can be appealed against to a court, pursuant to Article 7 of the Executive Penal Code. The court cannot, therefore, verify whether it was a legitimate decision or not. Such a situation creates room for abuse. It is imperative, therefore, that the legitimacy and the method of performing prisoners’ body search be subject to external verification. Possible judicial control has a preventive role and may act as a deterrent to those willing to use it without justification. It should be observed that in the past there were cases when the decision to perform a body search proved illegitimate from the point of view of safety. This was the conclusion presented by the European Court of Human Rights in its rulings against Poland. 58 Cf. Articles 116(2-5) and 6 of the Executive Penal Code 28