§ Mr. HoodTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many strip searches were made of female prisoners in Scottish prison establishments in 1989; 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 and had to be restrained while the search was being conducted; and if he will indicate the reasons for the search, namely, making a remand appearance at court, attending trial, inter-prison visit or other reasons.
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonStatistics on strip searches carried out on female prisoners are kept only at Her Majesty's institution Cornton Vale. During 1989, 2,206 strip searches were carried out. The reasons for these searches are given in the table:
On admission Routine room search Special room search After open Visit search Total 1,218 384 158 446 2,206 The other information requested could not be provided except at disproportionate cost.