§ Sir John Biggs-Davisonasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland for what reasons and in what circumstances male and female prisoners are strip-searched in Her Majesty's prisons in Northern Ireland: and what contribution such searches make to prison security.
§ Mr. ScottStrip searching aids both the maintenance of security of the prison and the safety of prisoners and staff. It is carried out on both male and female prisoners on reception into prisons, discharge from prison and on other occasions determined by the governor to be operationally necessary.
It makes a significant contribution to prison security both in its deterrent effect and by the detection of items 186W such as drugs and weapons which can be concealed easily about the person and may not be detected by other methods of searching.