PRISON SEARCHES UPSET UNIONISTS

Wellington: A new Corrections Department policy which can see all staff and
visitors to prisons searched will compromise trust between staff, the
prison officers' union says.

All entrants to prison sites, including managers, judges, police and
service providers could now be searched, Public Prisons Service (PPS)
general manager Phil McCarthy announced yesterday.

To date, search efforts have concentrated on inmates' visitors. The new
move to treat all groups the same is aimed at stopping drugs from entering
jails.

However, Corrections Association national president Lyn O'Connor said the
policy could create tension between prison officers.

"The worker that you are doing a rub-down search of, is then someone you
are expected to work with in the jail," she said.

"There's a gender impact, and an impact on bringing in personal medication,
which then becomes known to others and could be information a co-worker
would not normally have.

"We currently have insufficient staff to do normal business, let alone to
find other staff to be made available to do these searches."

It would slow down the day to day running of prisons, Ms O'Connor said.

"Our members are not happy with what the department is doing and how far
they wish to extend that."

Mr McCarthy said searching would not operate continuously at prisons, but
applied on a random basis.

During 2002, about 5000 visitors' vehicles were searched at prisons. This
resulted in 80 arrests and the seizure of drugs, drug paraphernalia and
weapons, Mr McCarthy said.

Last week, staff foiled an attempt to smuggle bullets hidden in shoes into
Christchurch Men's Prison.