Prison Service revises X-ray policy after court defeat

 The Prison Service has revised its policy on the use of X-ray body scanners in men’s prisons, following a court judgement earlier this year in which a prisoner was awarded £7,500 in damages because he had been unlawfully scanned.

The changes were made in an updated version of the Use of X-Ray Body Scanners (Adult Male Prisons) Policy Framework, first published in 2020 to govern the use of the devices.

In that year the then-Conservative government spent £6 million installing body scanners at 74 men’s prisons in England and Wales. Hailed as a ‘game-changer’ in prison security, the devices can detect drugs or mobile phones concealed inside prisoners’ bodies (pictured). In three years they were used 435,000 times and suspected contraband was found 46,925 times.

However, the previous policy caused confusion because it said that “each scan must only be conducted where there is intelligence or reasonable grounds to suspect that an item is being concealed by a person internally”. It said the intelligence could be “either linked to specific prisoners or cohorts”, but also said: “A person must not be scanned routinely or on a random basis.”

In practice, many prisons adopted a policy of scanning all newly-arrived prisoners, leading to complaints from men who said they had been scanned despite having a history of compliance and with no intelligence or suspicion against them as individuals.

The new policy makes clear that ‘cohort scanning’, including the scanning of all newly-arrived prisoners, is permitted within the rules. However, it also makes clear that ‘random scanning’ remains forbidden. Prisoner Vincent Horsfall was awarded damages after he was made to go through a scanner on his way back from a social visit by staff at HMP Oakwood who had been selecting prisoners at random for scanning.

The updated policy framework states at paragraphs 5.74 to 5.78: “Cohort scanning is where a prison opts to scan a cohort of prisoners where there is intelligence or reasonable suspicion that prisoners in the cohort are conveying illicit items internally via a particular route into or within a prison, but it has no other means of determining which specific prisoners are doing so.

“The scenarios where a cohort scan could be used include, but are not limited to, new receptions, transfers from another prison, recalls, court returns, release on temporary licence (ROTL). It could also apply if there is intelligence or reasonable suspicion that prisoners in a particular area of a prison, such as a place or work, or a wing are conveying items within the prison.

“Under no circumstances should prisons conduct random scanning on cohorts of prisoners.”

If a prison decides that cohort scanning is necessary, officials must discuss and renew the decision monthly at their security meetings, documenting “clear supporting evidence” based on “live and relevant” data as to why the approach is justified. The revised version of the Policy Framework carries a statement saying it has been “amended to include further information on cohort scanning”.