§ Mr. McNamaraasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many strip searches were made of female prisoners in Her Majesty's prison, Armagh, in June; if he will give the number of persons involved and the number of times each person was searched; whether any prison contraband, smuggled item or illegal correspondence was discovered in any search, indicating which items; in how many cases prisoners refused to be searched and had to be restrained while the search was being conducted; and if he will indicate the reasons for the search, namely, making an appearance at Armagh courthouse on remand, attending trial, inter-prison vist or other reasons.
§ Mr. ScottDuring June 1985, a total of 53 searches were carried out on 21 prisoners; eight prisoners were searched once; nine were searched twice; three were searched three times; and a life sentence prisoner taking part in a pre-release programme was searched on 18 occasions. The latter prisoner was offered accommodation in a separate, self-contained unit of the prison, which would have obviated the need for the full reception search procedure, but she preferred to remain located with the other prisoners.
A quantity of tranquilliser tablets were found in the clothing of an inmate during a routine committal search. No prisoner refused to be searched.
552WSearches were carried out in the following circumstances:
Numbers First Admission on Remand and Awaiting Trial 4 First Admission on Sentence and Final Discharge 10 Attending Remand Courts (other than Armagh) 1 Attending Trial 2 Bail Court Appearances 3 Pre-release Programme 14 Home Leave Scheme 13 Compassionate Home Leave 6 Total 53