"A strip search shall be conducted on each offender before exiting a special housing unit cell and then a frisk search shall be conducted immediately after restraints are applied and the offender removed from the cell." (O.P. 861.3 iv, D, 3, pg 6)
The provision above is outlined in Operating Procedure 861.3 "Special Housing" a VADOC regulation. When I read that provision, what's apparent to me is that suffering associated with the actual practice is not communicated at all. Fully understanding the internal conflict that anyone subjected to this procedure faces requires a general knowledge of its implementation and practice. Most of VADOC's Special Housing Units only require you to strip down to your boxers, but in those rare instances when you are forced to get completely nude, you're always facing the searcher. Here in C Building (Red Onion's Supermaximum Security Special Housing Unit), the search is much more elaborate. For starters, the search used here (the visual cavity search) is the most extreme type of strip search there is. the VCS consists of the following steps before it is complete.
You must be completely naked.
You must lift your scrotum for visual inspection.
You must lift your penis for visual inspection.
You must raise your arms for visual inspection of armpits.
While arms are in the air, you must open your mouth and rotate your tongue.
While arms are raised, you must turn around, facing your back to the searcher, and intermittently lift each foot and wiggle your toes.You must lower your arms, bend over, reach back and spread your buttocks to expose your anus for visual inspection.While in the aforementioned position, you must cough.
Once the search is complete, you're allowed to dress and then you are placed in handcuffs behind your back. From there, you must get on your knees and wait for your cell door to be opened. Once it's opened, you must wait for the officers to attach a leash to your cuffs. Once the leash is attached, the officers will instruct you to scoot backwards on your knees until your feet are beyond the door sill. At this time, officers will place your ankles in shackles before instructing you to stand. It's at this point that an officer conducts a pat down frisk search. When that's complete, your leash is tied to a guard rail, two officers secure each of your arms, and a third officer conducts a search of your cell. This procedure is conducted EVERY time you leave the cell. This means if a prisoner wants to go outside to the recreation cage five times per week and shower three of those days, then he'll be subjected to VCS Monday through Friday and twice on three of those days for showers. That's a total of 8 VCS searches per week. This isn't including a random occurrence like a hearing, trip to the kiosk, medical appointment, legal call etc. Couple this with the enormous amount of time one spends isolated and confined in the cell (not to mention all the restrictions) and so ask yourself: how does the VADOC have the audacity to claim that segregation is not a punishment?
I'm just saying...
Askari Danso, Red Onion State Prison #VAPOC