Louisiana Administrative Code › Title 22 - CORRECTIONS, CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND LAW ENFORCEMENT › Part I - Corrections › Chapter 3 - Adult Services › Subchapter A - General › Section I-303 - Searches of Visitors

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 6, June 20, 2024
A. Purpose. To
				  establish the secretary's policy regarding searches of visitors at state
				  correctional facilities and to set forth the procedures to be followed when
				  searching visitors.
B.
				  Applicability. Deputy Secretary, Chief of Operations, Assistant Secretary,
				  Regional Wardens and Wardens. Each warden is responsible for ensuring that
				  appropriate unit written policy and procedures are in place to comply with the
				  provisions of this regulation and for implementing and notifying all affected
				  persons of its contents.
C. Policy.
				  The United States and Louisiana Constitutions prohibit unreasonable searches.
				  Pursuant to
				  R.S.
				  14:402, it is a crime to bring contraband
				  into a correctional facility. Therefore, it is the secretary's policy to
				  respect the prohibition against unreasonable searches while acting in the
				  public interest to halt the flow of contraband into correctional facilities
				  under the jurisdiction of the department through implementation of a policy
				  regarding visitor searches. Such searches shall be conducted in a professional
				  manner that minimizes indignity to the visitor while still accomplishing the
				  objective of the search. Only staff trained in effective search techniques
				  shall conduct searches.
D.
				  Definitions
He/His
-pronouns which include both male
					 and female unless specifically stated otherwise.
Health Care Personnel
-individuals whose
					 primary duty is to provide health services to offenders in keeping with their
					 respective levels of health care training, experience and authority.
Institutional Grounds
-any tract of land
					 owned by the state which is under the control of the Department of Public
					 Safety and Corrections, Corrections Services.
Note: Parking lots are also part of the institutional
					 grounds whether fenced or not.
Official Institutional Guest
-includes,
					 but is not limited to: law enforcement officers; employees of the department
					 who are based at headquarters or other units; elected officials; approved news
					 media representatives; members of the Parole Board and the Pardon Board;
					 judges; magistrates; commissioners of the Nineteenth Judicial District Court
					 and court reporters who accompany them; civil service referees and other
					 institutional guests as designated by the warden. (It is anticipated that
					 official institutional guests would primarily be under staff escort or
					 observation while on institutional grounds.)
Personal Searches
-
a.
Property Search
-a search
				  of personal property brought onto institutional grounds including, but not
				  limited to, vehicles, lunchboxes, purses, coats, jackets and
				  briefcases.
b.
Pat-Down
				  Search
(also
Frisk Search
)-a search of a fully
				  clothed visitor for the purpose of discovering contraband. Pat-down searches
				  are conducted by an employee of the same sex.
i. The visitor being searched may be required
				  to empty his pockets, purse or any other item in his control where contraband
				  may be stored or carried.
ii. The
				  visitor being searched may be required to remove any wig or hairpiece being
				  worn. This portion of the search must be conducted in a private place and out
				  of the view of others.
iii. The
				  visitor being searched may also be required to remove all outerwear (coats,
				  jackets, hats, caps, belts, gloves, shoes, socks, etc.) in order for these
				  items to be inspected. He may also be required to run his hands through his
				  hair and to open his mouth for inspection. The visitor will not be required to
				  remove articles of clothing, which are the visitor's basic dress (shirt, pants,
				  dress, skirt, etc.)
iv. The person
				  conducting the search shall use his hands to touch the visitor being searched,
				  through his clothes, in such a manner to determine if something is being
				  concealed. If the person conducting the search discovers an unusual lump,
				  bulge, etc., he may order the visitor being searched to disclose the source.
				  Failure to comply with this order constitutes reasonable suspicion to conduct a
				  general search or a strip search and/or to refuse the visit.
c.
General
				  Search
-a search whereby a visitor is required to remove his clothing
				  down to his underwear (shorts for male visitors and camisole or bra and panties
				  for female visitors) in order that the clothing may be inspected for contraband
				  and the visitor's person be visually observed. Visitors who claim they are not
				  wearing underwear will still be required to remove their basic dress. This
				  search shall be conducted in a private place by an employee of the same sex as
				  the visitor being searched and out of the view of others.
d.
Strip Search
- a visual
				  search of a visitor's nude body, conducted by employees of the same sex as the
				  visitor. Strip searches shall be conducted in a private place and out of the
				  view of others. The visitor being searched may be required to bend over, squat,
				  turn around, raise his arms and lift the genitals. (The foregoing list is
				  exemplary, not exclusive.) The clothing of the visitor being searched shall be
				  thoroughly inspected prior to returning it. Strip searches shall be conducted
				  in a respectful and dignified manner.
e.
Visual Body Cavity Search (Strip
				  Search/Genital Examination)
-a search having the characteristics of a
				  strip search with the addition of a visual search of the anal and/or vaginal
				  openings, whereby the visitor being searched is required to open the cheeks of
				  the buttocks and/or the lips of the vagina. The visitor's clothing shall also
				  be thoroughly inspected prior to returning it. Such searches shall be conducted
				  by officers of the same sex as the visitor, in private and based on articulable
				  factors that the visitor is carrying contraband.
f.
Body Cavity Search
-a
				  search of a person's body cavities conducted by trained health care personnel
				  only.
Probable Cause
-articulable factors
					 supported by reasonable suspicion that contraband is being concealed. Probable
					 cause exists when facts and circumstances within the officer's knowledge and
					 about which he has reasonable trustworthy information are sufficient to support
					 a reasonable suspicion that an offense has been or will be committed and that
					 contraband may be found at the place to be searched or on the visitor.
Reasonable Suspicion
-suspicion supported
					 by facts and circumstances which lead an employee of ordinary caution to
					 believe that a visitor is concealing contraband in or on his body. Factors to
					 consider in determining reasonable suspicion include, but are not limited to,
					 the following:
a. nature of the tip or
				  information;
b. reliability of the
				  informant;
c. degree of
				  corroboration of the tip or other information; or
d. other facts contributing to suspicion.
Visitor
-any non-offender or non-employee
					 of the department who is on institutional grounds for any authorized visit, or
					 who is attempting to gain entry to the grounds for a visit, to conduct business
					 with staff, for purposes of a tour or as a volunteer, etc.