§ Mr. MeacherTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (i) males and (ii) females were strip-searched by(a) the police, (b) immigration officers, (c) prison officers and (d) other authorities in each year since 1980.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggInformation on the number of strip searches carried out by police officers is not collected centrally. Comprehensive information about the strip-searching of prison inmates is not available because establishments are not required to record every strip search. Immigration officers normally seek the co-operation of Her Majesty's Customs in any search of a passenger's baggage or person which may be considered necessary, and in practice immigration officers do not carry out strip searches. With regard to the number of strip searches carried out by Customs officers, I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my hon. Friend the Economic Secretary to a question from the hon. Member for Barking (Ms. Richardson) on 10 February at columns836–37.