PRISON SERVICE REPLY -- Stormont Watch

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Date Posted: Tue, Sep 06 2011, 21:39:40 PDT
Author: MAGHABERRY DIARY
Subject: PRISON SERVICE REPLY

5 September 2011

Dear Michele

Thank you for your recent correspondence to Mr David Ford, Minister of Justice. You have raised a number of concerns with regard to the conditions of detention for separated republican prisoners in Maghaberry Prison, and the Minister has asked the Northern Ireland Prison Service (NIPS) to respond to you on his behalf.

As you may be aware, following a period of sustained protest by separated republican prisoners in Roe House during 2010, NIPS entered into facilitated talks with prisoners which culminated in a successful resolution of the dispute on 12 August 2010. This agreement has led to significant regime improvements in Roe House.

Under the terms of the Agreement, NIPS agreed to introduce a new search facility and revised search procedures for separated prisoners. This facility, which includes hand held metal detectors, airport style scanners and a �BOSS� chair, has been operational since November 2010, and has removed the need for routine full body searching within the prison. However there is still a requirement for prisoners to undergo a full body search on entry to, and exit from, the prison. The rationale for the policy � which mirrors the arrangements elsewhere in the UK � is to ensure that the prisoner does not have any illicit items concealed on his person and thus does not pose a threat to other prisoners or staff within the prison or to the wider community.

In line with the Agreement, rub down searches, within Roe 3 and 4, have ceased, except where the prisoner is being moved off the landing, in which case, he will be subject to a rub down search before leaving.

The Minister has made clear that he is satisfied that those elements of the agreement that related to searching of prisoners, as well as the vast majority of the other commitments it contained, have now been implemented in full. However, as you are aware, a number of prisoners in Roe House are currently engaging in varying levels of a �dirty protest� in relation to alleged breaches of the August Agreement.

Let me assure you that the Minister of Justice and the management of the Northern Ireland Prison Service remain committed to the implementation of the Agreement, and to finding a satisfactory resolution to the current protest action by separated republican prisoners in Maghaberry.

Yours sincerely

NIPS Secretariat
Dundonald House
Upper Newtownards Road
Belfast
BT4 3SU

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