When can visitors be searched?

Anyone who wants to visit you in prison will have to agree to a search with a detector for drugs, weapons or metal objects. Visitors who refuse can be turned away. This comes from section 44 of the Corrections Act 1986 (Vic).

Visitor searches on prison property

General Managers can only order prison staff to search any visitor on prison property if it is for the security and good order of the prison. This power comes from section 45 of the Corrections Act 1986 (Vic).

Searches will most likely happen at contact visits. If the visitor refuses a lawful request for a search, they may not be allowed in for the contact visit and could be banned from having any type of visit for a while.

Before a prison officer can search a visitor, they must tell them:

What their legal authority is to do the search
The reason for the search
That the visitor can either refuse or consent to a search, and can withdraw their consent any time during the search
What could happen if the visitor refuses a search

A visitor being searched can ask for another person be present, including a person who has attended with them or any other person at the prison who is not a prisoner.

Searches on people outside but nearby the prison

General Managers can also order officers at prisons outside Melbourne to search a person who is outside prison property but nearby, but only in certain situations. This is when something has happened outside but near the prison that the General Manager believes on reasonable grounds threatens the security or good order of the prison.

This comes from section 45 of the Corrections Act 1986 (Vic).

Before searching a person under this section, the prison officer must:

Tell the person that officer’s legal authority to search them
Tell the person the reason for the search

Cars being searched on prison property

General Managers can order prison officers to search a visitor’s car that is parked on prison property, which includes the prison carpark. This comes from section 45 of the Corrections Act 1986 (Vic).

Important: It’s an offence for visitors to bring alcohol, drugs, tobacco or unlawful weapons onto prison property, even if the items don’t go inside the prison building. If a prison officer searches your visitor’s car on prison property (like the carpark) and finds any of these items, your visitor could be charged with an offence and banned from visiting you or any prisons in the future.

It’s extremely important to remind visitors not to have these items in their car when they visit your prison.

Cars being searched outside but nearby prison property

General Managers can also order officers at prisons outside Melbourne to search a car that is outside prison property but nearby, but only in certain situations. This is when something has happened outside but near the prison that the General Manager believes on reasonable grounds threatens the security or good order of the prison.