Prisoner’s rights breached by finger-sweep

A prisoner required to sweep the inside of his mouth with his finger to prove he had swallowed his prescription medication had his rights breached, a judge has ruled.

The finding is contained in a recent judgement by Justice Simon France from the High Court in Wellington.

The prisoner, identified only as Mr X, sued the Department of Corrections, claiming his right to be treated with humanity and respect for his inherent dignity had been breached while he was serving time in Christchurch Men’s Prison between December 2016 and February 2022.

The prisoner made various claims against the department, including that he was deprived of access to Ritalin as treatment for his ADHD, was embarrassed in front of other prisoners by being summoned over a loudspeaker to collect his medication, was referred to as a ‘‘druggie’’ by prison officers, was subjected to ‘‘thousands’’ of rub-down searches, and was forced to rub his finger around the inside of his mouth once he was given his medication.

Mr X suffers from the skin condition psoriasis, which he said made the ‘‘unlawful’’ requirement to sweep his mouth with his finger even more unpleasant.

Justice France heard from several witnesses, including Mr X and people connected to the prison. He said while he considered all to be truthful witnesses, Mr X had ‘‘a significant sense of grievance’’ that coloured the lens through which he viewed and recalled events.

The judge said it was not in dispute that Mr X had been subjected to rub-down searches every time he had to leave his unit to go to the health centre. This sometimes meant up to four searches a day.

However, the judge found the reason for this policy was obvious and justifiable. ‘‘The concern around [controlled] drugs in prison is well-founded. The inevitable consequence – a rubdown search, coming and going, does not involve a level of intrusion that undermines the soundness of the policy.’’

The judge did regard the requirement that Mr X swipe his mouth with his finger after taking medication as a breach of the Bill of Rights. Justice France said it was ‘‘inherently degrading conduct’’ that was not supported by official prison policy.

‘‘It is in my view clear that in the case of Mr X, requiring him unnecessarily to rub his psoriasis-affected finger around the inside of his mouth each time he took a pill was unpleasant conduct that breached [the Bill of Rights].’’