The Prisoner Escorts Rules 1993

Made: 7th March 1993

Laid before Parliament: 15th March 1993

Coming into force: 5th April 1993

In exercise of the powers conferred upon me by section 82(1)(a) of the Criminal Justice Act 1991[^f00001], I hereby make the following Rules:

1

• (1) These Rules may be cited as the Prisoner Escorts Rules 1993 and shall come into force on 5th April 1993.

• (2) In these Rules–

• (a) “officer” means a prisoner custody officer who is authorised to perform escort functions in accordance with section 89 of the 1991 Act,

• (b) “prisoner” means a person for whose delivery or custody an officer is responsible in pursuance of prisoner escort arrangements within the meaning of section 80(2) of the 1991 Act, and

• (c) “the 1991 Act” means the Criminal Justice Act 1991.

2

An officer shall only search a prisoner when it appears necessary to do so in the interests of security, good order or discipline.

3

A prisoner shall be searched in as seemly a manner as is consistent with discovering anything concealed.

4

A prisoner shall not be searched when he is exposed to public observation unless it appears to an officer that that is necessary.

5

A prisoner shall not be stripped and searched in the sight of any person other than the officers who are present during the search.

6

A minimum of two officers shall be present when a prisoner is being stripped and searched.

Signed

Kenneth Clarke — One of Her Majesty’s Principal Secretaries of State — 7th March 1993

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Rules)

These Rules set out the conditions under which a prisoner custody officer, who is authorised to perform escort functions in accordance with section 89 of the Criminal Justice Act 1991 (“the 1991 Act”), may search a prisoner for whose delivery or custody he is responsible in pursuance of prisoner escort arrangements within the meaning of section 80(2) of the 1991 Act.

Footnotes

[^f00001]: 1991 c. 53.