§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was the number of strip searches made on female persons in Her Majesty's prison732W Maghaberry monthly since March 1991; what were the numbers of persons involved and the number of times each person was searched; what prison contraband, smuggled item, or illegal correspondence was discovered in any search; in how many cases prisoners refused to be searched and had to be restrained while the search was being conducted; and what were the reasons for each search.
§ Dr. MawhinneyDetails of the number of, and reasons for, strip searches of female prisoners in Her Majesty's prison Maghaberry from June 1990 to March 1991 have already been provided,Official Report, columns 428–29, 7 May 1991. Details from April 1991 are as follows:
April 1991 May 1991 June 1991 Number of Searches Total number of searches carried out 35 25 33 Total number of inmates searched 26 19 24 Number of prisoners searched once 17 15 18 Number of prisoners searched twice 9 3 4 Number of prisoners searched more than twice Nil 1 2 Reasons for search First admission on remand/awaiting trial 6 5 5 First admission on sentence/final discharge 16 8 13 Attending remand court Nil 1 Nil Attending trial 2 Nil Nil Inter-prison visits 4 4 8 Following prison visits 1 Nil Nil Pre-release home leave 4 6 7 Compassionate home leave Nil Nil Nil Visits to outside hospital Nil Nil Nil Returning from bail application Nil Nil Nil Attendance at court for bail Nil 1 Nil Fines paid 2 Nil Nil Working out scheme Nil Nil Nil Bail granted Nil Nil Nil No prohibited article was found during these searches. One prisoner refused to be searched.