18 Jul 2010

Prison officer stood down over strip search claim

8:01 pm on 18 July 2010

A prison officer has been stood down over claims he asked female co-workers to strip search him as part of a training exercise.

The Herald on Sunday newspaper claims a middle-aged male officer asked for the search as part of a training exercise for new female guards at Ngawha Prison on the outskirts of Kaikohe in Northland.

The newspaper says the man was down to his boxer shorts before the female guards halted the exercise.

A Corrections Department spokesperson says the department cannot comment further as the issue is now the focus of a pending employment investigation.