B.11.01.R5 National Body Piercing Policy (National Requirement)

National Requirement

• Prisoners with body piercings and adornments are managed in accordance with the National Body Piercing Policy. This policy has been developed to reduce the health-related risks that can occur when body piercing is undertaken in non-sterile conditions, and recognises the safety and security risks for staff, other prisoners and the prison.

Procedure

1. The only permitted body piercings are one pair of plain stud earrings.
2. Prisoners who are “At Risk” may be required to remove all body piercings for safety reasons.
3. Prisoners who have prohibited body piercings (i.e. piercings that are not one pair of plain stud earrings) must remove these at the request of an officer (either on reception or when first identified).
4. Prisoners who do not remove prohibited body piercings when requested may be charged with a disciplinary offence (refer to PPM A.07).
5. If a prohibited body piercing that is to be taken from a prisoner cannot otherwise be removed, the item may be cut off the prisoner.
6. Use of force can be used to remove prohibited body piercings where this is deemed necessary (refer to PPM B.13 for the Use of Force policy).
7. Health Services staff will only be required to assist with the removal of prohibited body piercings where this is necessary for medical reasons e.g. infection of the piercing site.
8. Any removed piercings or adornments must be stored in accordance with B.11.01.R2.