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Mr. McNamara
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many strip searches were made of female prisoners in Her Majesty's prison, Maghaberry, in February and March, giving the number of persons involved and number of times each person was searched and if any prison contraband, smuggled item, or illegal correspondence was discovered in any search, indicating which items; 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 the search under each of the following headings: (a) making a remand appearance at court, (b) attending trial, (c) inter-prison visit, and (d) other reasons.
Mr. Stanley
The information requested is as follows:
| February | March | |
| Number of searches | ||
| Total number of searches carried out | 34 | 33 |
| Total number of inmates searched | 24 | 25 |
| Number of prisoners searched once | 17 | 17 |
| Number of prisoners searched twice | 6 | 8 |
| Number of prisoners searched three times or more | 1 | — |
| Reasons for search | ||
| First admission on remand-awaiting trial | 10 | 4 |
| First admission on sentence-final discharge | 17 | 21 |
| Attending remand court | — | — |
| Attending trial | — | — |
| Inter-prison visits | 1 | 1 |
| Pre-release home leave scheme | 2 | 7 |
| Visits to outside hospital | 1 | — |
| After a visit | 3 | — |
| No prohibited article was found during these searches and no prisoners refused to be searched. | ||