Searching of the person

There are various circumstances in which a person might be searched whilst in prison and different types of search that may be justified by different circumstances. Common times to be searched are on initial reception to prison, after transfer from another prison, returning to prison after ROTL or escort, following visits and when conducting a cell-search. The type of search you might get depends on things like whether you are in the high security estate, or whether you are in prison for men, women or young people. PSI 07/2016 Searching of the Person contains details of this, and we thought it would be useful to summarise some of the key points below.

There are two main types of search – rub down searches and full searches.

Rub down searches can be carried out by a single officer and must be done using open hands with fingers spread out. There are two levels of rub down search – level A and level B. Level A rub down searches include extra checks such as asking you to remove shoes, checking in your hair and looking inside your ears nose and mouth, whereas level B rub down searches do not.

Rub down searches are not intrusive searches and should not normally require you to raise or remove outer clothing. However, if the prison staff think that something may be hidden you may be asked to raise or remove outer clothing. This must always be done in private and out of sight of persons of the opposite sex.

Full searches are more in depth searches which require you to remove your clothing. They must be carried out by two officers of the same sex as the person being searched and should be out of sight of anyone else including other staff and prisoners. You should never be completely naked during a full search – staff should let you replace clothing on the top half of your body before removing items on the lower half.

Full searches of women differ from that of male prisoners and consist of Level 1 and Level 2 searches. Level 1 searches involve the removal of clothing except from underwear. Level 2 searches involve removal of all clothing including underwear. Level 2 searches should only take place if there is intelligence or suspicion that an item has been hidden.

Hand-held metal detectors may be used during a full search for men and must be used as part of a full search for women.

Prison officers are not allowed to conduct intimate searches. Searching staff may look into your mouth during a rub down or full search. If there are grounds to suspect that a male prisoner has an item hidden in an intimate area then a closer visual inspection can be undertaken as part of a full search. Male prisoners may be asked to squat during a full search, and records must be kept of when this request is made. Women must not be asked to squat under any circumstances and should not be subject to visual inspections of intimate areas.

There are a number of annexes within the PSI which cover considerations for specific groups of people.

Annex D gives guidance on searching arrangements for religious or cultural reasons. Male prisoners who have a religious or cultural reason for not being searched by a female member of staff can request that this is carried out by male staff only. It also sets out the procedure for searching of religious or cultural headwear and provisions for Muslim prisoners if they are to be searched by dogs.

Annex E says that search procedures will need to be varied according to injuries or disabilities a person has and with advice from healthcare if needed.

Annex H includes searching arrangements for transgender people in prison and states that a voluntary agreement should be put in place as to how this should be done. If you have applied for or have obtained legal recognition of the gender with which you identify you must be searched in accordance with this unless alternative arrangements are agreed. It is important to note that searches must not be conducted to determine gender.

If you would like a copy of the full Prison Service Instruction on this subject, please contact us on the details below.

Please note, the above article focusses on prisons in England and Wales and may not apply elsewhere.