§ Ms. Clare Shortasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many strip searches have been performed in Armagh prison in each quarter since strip searching was introduced.
§ Mr. Tom KingPrisoners admitted to Armagh prison have always undergone a full reception search. Records have only been maintained since 5 November 1982. The information available is as follows:
217W
Quarter ending 1982 1983 1984 1985 31 March *517 88 *145 30 June *290 99 *169 30 September *269 66 74 31 December 400 142 102 — * These figures include searches carried out on life sentence prisoners—two in 1983 and one in 1985—engaged in prerelease working-out programmes who each entered and left the prison more than 50 times each month. The prisoner engaged in the programme in 1985 was given the option of being located in an area of the prison which would have removed the need for her to be searched but she chose to remain located with other prisoners.
§ Ms. Clare Shortasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many women have been held on remand in Armagh prison in each quarter since strip searching was introduced.
§ Mr. Tom KingThe details requested are set out in the following table.
Quarter ending 1982 1983 1984 1985 March — 14 7 13 June — 15 9 6 September — 11 10 8 December 16 8 8 — Notes
1. The above figures, which relate to the last Sunday in each quarter, include women on remand or awaiting trial, and those detained in the young offenders centre.
2. Prisoners admitted to Armagh prison for the first time have always undergone a full reception search. In November 1982 it was decided to implement this type of search for all admissions to and discharges from the prison including attendance at court hearings. Since March 1983 prisoners attending court for remand hearings or for trial are strip-searched on a random basis only.