Selected topics from 2016 Within the field of mental health care, the law states that checks involving the removal of clothing are only permitted if there are grounds for suspecting that a patient is attempting to introduce dangerous objects or illegal substances. The same requirement applies to the child welfare sector, where it has been decided in addition that only the surface of the body, the oral cavity and clothes can be searched. Implementation of a search The Norwegian regulations contain limited information concerning the method to be used for body searches, and this is reflected in the different practices applied at the institutions the NPM has visited. In several of its reports, the CPT has recommended using as considerate methods as possible to prevent degrading treatment of the person. This includes the use of a two-step process for removing clothing where the person first removes the clothes from their upper body, gets these clothes back and then removes the clothing from their lower body. This is a practice that the NPM has seen in use at Norwegian institutions and that staff have expressed works well. This is proposed as standard practice in the draft of the new national custody instructions. At some child welfare institutions, the NPM has found that young people have been allowed to stand behind a towel to make the process of removing clothing less invasive. The NPM consistently found, however, that the practical implementation of searches involving the removal of clothing varies considerably between the different sectors, institutions and individuals and shifts at specific institutions. In many cases, using technological aids would be a sufficient means of achieving the goal of a search. The Mandela Rules, for example, encourage the use of such measures as an alternative to body searches.4 The NPM has observed the use of metal detectors and X-ray checks of clothes and bags. A body scanner has also been observed in use in connection with customs checks. 4 The Mandela Rules, Rule 52. 5 The Mandela Rules, Rule 81 (3) and the Bangkok Rules, Rule 19. 19 International guidelines recommend that body searches be carried out by a person of the same gender as the person being searched.5 This is an important condition for preventing degrading treatment, particularly with respect to people who have been the victims of abuse. The guidelines to the Execution of Sentences Act state that body searches in prisons should be carried out by a staff member of the same gender as the inmate. Conversations with inmates confirm that men are rarely present during body searches of women. In cases where this has happened, the male officer has had his back turned or stood outside a door kept ajar. In the mental health care and child welfare sectors, the law expressly states that body searches are only to be carried out by a person of the same gender as the person being searched. The same practice is also found in the internal guidelines for the police immigration detention centre at Trandum. In police custody facilities, the NPM has found that body searches by staff of the same gender as the detainee are the standard practice.