§ 5-06 — Limits to Cross-Gender Viewing and Searches

§ 5-06 Limits to Cross-Gender Viewing and Searches.

(a) The Department shall not conduct cross-gender strip searches or cross-gender visual body cavity searches (meaning a search of the anal or genital opening) except in exigent circumstances or when performed by medical practitioners. (b) The Department shall not permit cross-gender pat-down searches of female inmates, absent exigent circumstances. The Department shall not restrict female inmates' access to regularly available programming or other out-of-cell opportunities in order to comply with this provision. (c) The Department shall document all cross-gender strip searches and cross-gender visual body cavity searches, and shall document all cross-gender pat-down searches of female inmates. (d) The Department shall implement policies and procedures that enable inmates to shower, perform bodily functions, and change clothing without nonmedical staff of the opposite gender viewing their breasts, buttocks, or genitalia, except in exigent circumstances or when such viewing is incidental to routine cell checks. Such policies and procedures shall require staff of the opposite gender to announce their presence when entering an inmate housing unit. (e) The Department shall not search or physically examine a transgender or intersex inmate for the sole purpose of determining the inmate's genital status. If the inmate's genital status is unknown, it may be determined during conversations with the inmate, by reviewing medical records, or, if necessary, by learning that information as part of a broader medical examination conducted in private by a medical practitioner. (f) The Department shall train security staff in how to conduct cross-gender pat-down searches, and searches of transgender and intersex inmates, in a professional and respectful manner, and in the least intrusive manner possible consistent with security needs. For purposes of these searches, unless exigent circumstances require otherwise, the Department shall make its best efforts to treat intersex and transgender inmates in accordance with their gender identity. The Department shall conduct this training in accordance with the timelines set forth in 40 RCNY § 5-12(f). (g) The Department shall issue a written directive to all staff incorporating the provisions of this section and provide this directive to the Board by June 1, 2017. (Added City Record 11/25/2016, eff. 1/2/2017)