MEDIA RELEASE – For immediate use, 30 May 2012

Strip searching law changes opposed

The New Zealand Law Society has said Government proposals to change the law on prison strip searching are unnecessary and would decrease existing controls on a procedure which must be closely regulated.

The Law Society presented its submission on the Corrections Amendment Bill to Parliament’s Law and Order Committee today. The Bill would allow more invasive procedures and also remove safeguards including requirements for prison officers to obtain managerial approval before strip searching in some cases.

A spokesperson for the Law Society, Frances Joychild, told the committee that the Law Society accepted it was necessary to strip search prisoners to reduce contraband and drug-taking in prison. However, it was universally recognised to be a degrading and humiliating experience and its use had to be carefully controlled.

“We believe there is no justification for the proposed changes. The dramatic reduction in positive drug-testing in our prisons demonstrates that current strip searching procedures are effective,” she said.

“The Minister of Corrections recently reported a reduction from 36% positive drug tests of prisoners in 1997-98 to 5% in the past year. We are also unaware of other contraband entering prisons at greater levels than in the past.”

Ms Joychild said the Bill proposed removing the requirement for a manager’s approval for a strip search where there were reasonable grounds for believing a prisoner possessed unauthorised items. However, this restriction recognised that the impact of strip searching on privacy and dignity required a high threshold before statutory safeguards could be removed.

“We recognise the difficult environment which prison officers face. However, whatever else they may have done, prisoners remain human beings, entitled to humane treatment. Any strip searching must be restricted to what is necessary to maintain safety, security and order,” she said.

“The dehumanising of prisoners and a blanket authorisation of humiliating searches that has historically characterised totalitarian and repressive regimes is not part of our culture or our legal and human rights heritage.”

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