Asked by: Lord Morrow (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to amend the Searching the Person prison service instruction (PSI 48/2010) issued on 12 October 2010, that “female prisoners, visitors and staff must only be searched by female staff”.
Answered by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
The Prison Service Instruction PSI48/2010 Searching of the Person was replaced in 2016 by PSI07/2016 Searching of the Person.
This policy, which has been in place since 1992, allows for male officers to conduct rub down searches on the same sex only and female officers to conduct rub down searches on both sexes. Full searches must only be conducted by a person of the same sex.
The national policy on the searching of prisoners, staff and visitors (PSI 07/2016 – Searching of the Person) is currently under review and it is intended to publish a revised version later this year.
The updated policy will also include direction on transgender staff conducting searches. This will encompass staff with or without a Gender Recognition Certificate.
In reviewing the policy, Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) has consulted with the Government’s Legal Department and HMPPS Equalities Team. The new policy will be compliant with the Equality Act 2010, the Gender Recognition Act 2004 and the European Convention of Human Rights.
Asked by: Lord Morrow (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether female prisoners can be searched by transgender prison staff (1) with, and (2) without, a Gender Recognition Certificate.
Answered by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
In accordance with the Gender Recognition Act 2004, transgender people may apply for a Gender Recognition Certificate. Prisoners and staff members in receipt of a GRC have the legal right to be treated as their acquired gender in every respect.
The national policy on the searching of prisoners, staff and visitors (PSI 07/2016 – Searching of the Person) is currently under review and it is intended to publish a revised version later this year.
The updated policy will include direction on transgender staff conducting searches. This policy will encompass staff with or without a Gender Recognition Certificate.
In reviewing the policy, Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) has consulted with the Government’s Legal Department and HMPPS Equalities Team. The new policy will be compliant with the Equality Act 2010, the Gender Recognition Act 2004 and the European Convention of Human Rights.
Asked by: Lord Morrow (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce a new section to their publication Procedures for searching people: PSI 07/2016, published on 26 July 2016, (1) on the conduct of searches by transgender prison officers, and (2) to confirm that the right of women prisoners to be searched only by officers of female sex assigned at birth will be maintained.
Answered by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
The national policy on the searching of prisoners, staff and visitors (PSI 07/2016 – Searching of the Person) is currently under review and it is intended to publish a revised version later this year.
The updated policy will include direction on transgender staff conducting searches. This will encompass staff with or without a Gender Recognition Certificate.
In reviewing the policy, Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) has consulted with the Government’s Legal Department and HMPPS Equalities Team. The new policy will be compliant with the Equality Act 2010, the Gender Recognition Act 2004 and the European Convention of Human Rights.
Asked by: Lord Morrow (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the pilot projects in five regions in England on the use of polygraph tests on sex offenders who are being managed in the community.
Answered by Lord Faulks
In April 2009 the National Offender Management Service commenced a pilot of mandatory polygraph examinations on sexual offenders in nine former Probation Trusts. Operating under legislation introduced in the Offender Management Act 2007, provision was made for all adult sexual offenders sentenced to 12 months or more for a sexual offence and released into the pilot areas to be required to comply with polygraph testing as one of their licence conditions. The pilot involved 332 offenders who were subject to the polygraph licence condition and 303 in a comparison group who were not.
The independent evaluation of the pilot concluded that sexual offenders subject to testing made more than twice the number of clinically significant disclosures than those in the comparison group who had not been subject to polygraph testing. In particular, the evaluation showed that polygraph testing increased the likelihood of preventative actions being taken by offender managers that would contribute to greater protection of the public from harm. The full report is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-evaluation-of-the-mandatory-polygraph-pilot
In response to the positive outcomes of the pilot, provisions of the Offender Management Act 2007 were commenced in 2014 to impose the polygraph on all high risk sexual offenders released on licence. With effect from August 2014, all high risk sex offenders on licence are subject to polygraph tests conducted by specially trained staff in the National Probation Service.