Prison Act 1952

[F116A Testing prisoners for drugs [F2, psychoactive substances and other substances].E+W

(1)If an authorisation is in force for the prison, any prison officer may, at the prison, in accordance with prison rules, require any prisoner who is confined in the prison to provide a sample of urine for the purpose of ascertaining whether [F3the prisoner has in their body any—

(a)controlled drug,

(b)pharmacy medicine,

(c)prescription only medicine,

(d)psychoactive substance, or

(e)specified substance].

(2)If the authorisation so provides, the power conferred by subsection (1) above shall include power to require a prisoner to provide a sample of any other description specified in the authorisation, not being an intimate sample, whether instead of or in addition to a sample of urine.

[F4(2A)The Secretary of State may use any prisoners' samples to test, on an anonymised basis, for the prevalence of the following substances in prisons—

(a)controlled drugs,

(b)medicinal products,

(c)psychoactive substances, or

(d)specified substances.]

(3)In this section—

  • “authorisation” means an authorisation by the governor;

  • [F5“controlled drug” means] any drug which is a controlled drug for the purposes of the M1Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 F6...;

  • “intimate sample” has the same meaning as in Part V of the M2Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984;

  • [F7“medicinal product” has the meaning given in regulation 2 of the Human Medicines Regulations 2012;

  • “pharmacy medicine” has the meaning given in regulation 8 of the Human Medicines Regulations 2012;

  • “prescription only medicine” has the meaning given in regulation 8 of the Human Medicines Regulations 2012;]

  • “prison officer” includes a prisoner custody officer within the meaning of Part IV of the Criminal Justice Act 1991;F8...

  • “prison rules” means rules under section 47 of this Act;

  • [F9“prisoners' samples” means any sample—

    (a)

    provided under subsection (1) or (2), or

    (b)

    provided by prisoners voluntarily;

  • “psychoactive substance” has the same meaning as in the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016;]

  • [F10[F11“specified substance” means] any substance or product specified in prison rules for the purposes of this section.]]

[F12(4)The Secretary of State may, by regulations, make such amendments of this section or section 47 as the Secretary of State considers appropriate in consequence of—

(a)the amendment or revocation of the Human Medicine Regulations 2012, or

(b)the making, amendment or revocation of any other subordinate legislation (whenever made) which relates to human medicines.

(5)In subsection (4) “subordinate legislation” has the same meaning as in the Interpretation Act 1978.]

Textual Amendments

F1S. 16A and sidenote inserted (9.1.1995) by 1994 c. 33, s. 151(1); S.I. 1994/3192, art. 2, Sch.

Marginal Citations