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Correctional Services Act, 1998 (Act No. 111 of 1998)

Regulations for the Administration of the Department of Correctional Services of the Republic of South Africa

Chapter II : Custody of all Inmates under Conditions of Human Dignity

16. Searches

 

1) A search contemplated in section 27(2) (b), (c), (d) and (e) of the Act:
a) must be undertaken in the prison hospital, clinic or public hospital depending on the procedure necessary to conduct the search;
b) will not include the administering of vomitories or enemas; and
c) must at all times be witnessed by a correctional official of the same gender as the prisoner, who must record the outcome of the search.
d) Searches of inmates that require medical technology, as well as body cavity searches, must be referred to a health establishment as defined in the National Health Act, 2003 (Act No. 61 of 2003) with the required resources.
e) If it is found that the foreign body that was swallowed or inserted in a bodily orifice is not excreted by normal bodily processes the inmate must be interviewed to determine the type of foreign body swallowed or inserted and be referred to the nearest private or public health establishment as defined in the National Health Act, 2003 (Act No. 61 of 2003) in consultation with a health care professional for assessment and removal thereof.

 

2)
a) Any inmate detained for the purposes of a search contemplated in terms of section 27(2)(e) of the Act must be detained in a single cell.
b) Every such inmate must be visited at least once a day by the Head of the Correctional Centre, and his or her health status assessed at least once every four hours by a registered nurse.