Is there a reasonable expectation of privacy for the search of a prisoner in a prison setting?

British Columbia, Canada


The following excerpt is from R. v. Smith, 2001 BCSC 859 (CanLII):

A substantially reduced expectation of privacy exists with respect to the search of a prisoner in a prison setting. In Conway v. Attorney General of Canada (1993), 1993 CanLII 112 (SCC), 83 C.C.C.(3d) 1 (S.C.C.) La Forest J. stated at p. 4: Imprisonment necessarily entails surveillance, searching and scrutiny. A prison cell is expected to be exposed and to require observation. The frisk search, the count and the wind are all practices necessary in a penitentiary for the security of the institution, the public and indeed the prisoners themselves. A substantially reduced level of privacy is present in this setting and a prisoner thus cannot hold a reasonable expectation of privacy with respect to these practices. This conclusion is unaffected by the fact that the practices at times may be conducted by female guards. There being no reasonable expectation of privacy, s. 8 of the Charter is not called into play; nor is s. 7 implicated.

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