Part 3: Enforcement Section 51: Search for nationality documents by detainee custody officers etc
This section creates new search powers for detainee custody officers, prison officers and prisoner custody officers. The powers enable these officers to search a detained person who is liable to removal or deportation, or their property, when directed to do so by the Secretary of State if there are reasonable grounds to suspect that relevant documents will be found. A full search may be carried out but not in the presence of another detained person or a person of the opposite sex, including the persons conducting the search (subsection (8)). It does not permit an intimate search (subsection (9)). The purpose of the search is to obtain all documents relating to a person’s nationality for example, documents that describe where a person is from and where they have been, in order to support the person’s removal. The officers must then pass them to the Secretary of State. If documents are not retained by the Secretary of State, they must be returned to the person they were taken from or disposed of if return is not appropriate.