Proposal to Stop Double Checks of Inmate Packages

The Ministry of Justice is proposing to stop double-checking packages, parcels, and personal belongings intended for detainees or sentenced individuals after screening them with a device. This means that if there are no reasonable grounds for suspicion regarding prohibited items in these packages, the corrections service officers will not re-screen them.

This draft has been presented by the Ministry of Justice on the unified website for public discussions of legal acts. The ministry emphasized that by not re-checking packages, the risk of artificial queues in correctional facilities will be eliminated, and corrections officers will be relieved of unnecessary burdens related to performing formal actions.

According to the Ministry of Justice, all correctional facilities are equipped with devices for checking packages, parcels, and personal belongings. However, after the initial screening, corrections officers still conduct double checks, slicing items and transferring them into separate containers, even though the screening device shows the composition of the checked items.

“After screening with technical equipment, without the presence of reasonable suspicion, rechecking (to maintain formal requirements) may lead to artificial accumulations of citizens and cause justified dissatisfaction among them. Furthermore, maintaining the formal requirement will result in unnecessary workload for the relevant corrections officers,” the ministry noted in the draft.

It should be mentioned that according to a 2006 government decision, bakery products, fish, cheese, sausages, and meat designated as packages are sliced, canned goods are opened and transferred into another container, packs of cigarettes are opened and checked, and candies are accepted without packaging, and if necessary, they are divided into pieces.