Searches, Shakedowns, and Contraband in Federal Prison

By Elizabeth Franklin-Best, Esq., and Christopher Zoukis, JD, MBA

Federal prison staff may search a person, their cell and their work area at any time, without a warrant, without notice and without the person present — but the type of search they may use is not open-ended. 28 C.F.R. part 552 sets out a ladder of five search methods, and each rung up the ladder requires a higher level of authorization and a stronger reason, with the governing instruction being that staff “shall employ the least intrusive method of search practicable.”

Question	Current answer	Source
Do staff need a warrant to search a cell?	No. Staff may search housing and work areas “without notice to or prior approval from the inmate and without the inmate’s presence”	28 C.F.R. § 552.14
Do staff need suspicion for a pat search?	No — pat and electronic searches may be done “on a routine or random basis”	28 C.F.R. § 552.11
Who may perform a body cavity search?	Only designated qualified health personnel, on the warden’s approval	PS 5521.06 at p. 7
Governing policy	PS 5521.06 CN-1 (6 March 2025), amending PS 5521.06 (4 June 2015)	PS 5521.06 at p. 1
Visitor searches	PS 5510.16 (3 September 2026) — rescinds PS 5510.15; entering the grounds is implied consent to search	PS 5510.16 at p. 4
Ion drug screening	PS 5524.01 (7 May 2026) — new number, rescinds PS 5522.02	PS 5524.01 at p. 1
Drug and alcohol testing	PS 5514.01 (7 May 2026) — random testing set at 5% of population monthly, all security levels	PS 5514.01 at p. 3
Lockdowns and mass searches	PS 5525.01 (7 May 2026) — first BOP policy dedicated to lockdowns	PS 5525.01 at p. 1
Definition of contraband	“Material prohibited by law, or by regulation, or material that can reasonably be expected to cause physical injury or adversely affect the security, safety, or good order of the institution”	28 C.F.R. § 500.1(h)
Time to prove ownership of confiscated property	7 days after receiving the inventory	PS 5580.10 at p. 13
Time property is held before destruction	Ordinarily 30 days	PS 5580.10 at p. 14

Current as of 7 September 2026. A Program Statement is agency policy, not law: the regulation binds the Bureau, and the Program Statement is how the Bureau instructs its staff to apply it.

The search ladder: who may authorize what, and on what basis

This is the whole framework in one place. Every row is drawn from 28 C.F.R. §§ 552.10–552.14 as reproduced in Program Statement 5521.06, with the page anchor for each.

Search type	Regulation	What it involves	Who may conduct it	What has to be true first	What must be documented
Electronic device search	§ 552.11(a)	Inspection with a metal detector, ion spectrometry device or body imaging device. Clothing stays on. May include a search of clothing and personal effects	Any trained staff. Opposite-sex staff may operate devices revealing body contours if appropriate filters are used	Nothing. May be done “on a routine or random basis to control contraband”	No individual documentation required for the search itself
Pat search	§ 552.11(b)	Inspection using the hands. Clothing stays on. Includes clothing and personal effects	Staff. Male staff may not pat-search a woman absent exigent circumstances (28 C.F.R. § 115.15(b))	Nothing. “Routine or random basis.” A metal-detector search may be added	An opposite-sex pat search of a woman requires a memorandum to the Lieutenants’ Office, forwarded to the PREA Compliance Manager — PS 5521.06 at p. 5
Visual search (strip search)	§ 552.11(c)	“A visual inspection of all body surfaces and body cavities.” Non-tactile	Staff of the same sex, except where delay “would mean the likely loss of contraband.” Opposite-sex staff must document the reasons in the central file	Reasonable belief contraband is concealed, or a good opportunity for concealment has occurred — SHU placement, leaving the institution, or re-entry after contact with the public (community trip, court transfer, contact visit)	Entry in the visual search log book — PS 5521.06 at p. 6
Digital or simple instrument search	§ 552.11(d)	Inspection of a body cavity using fingers or simple instruments — otoscope, tongue blade, short nasal speculum, simple forceps	Only designated qualified health personnel (physicians, physician assistants, nurses). Opposite-sex staff may not observe	Warden or Acting Warden approval, and only where the Warden “has reasonable belief that an inmate is concealing contraband in or on his person.” Not permitted if likely to cause physical injury	Form BP-A0313 plus documentation in the central file. Written consent is solicited but “the inmate’s consent is not required” — PS 5521.06 at p. 7
Close observation (“dry cell”)	§ 552.12	Placement in a room or cell under constant observation until contraband is voided	Warden or designee during duty hours; the Operations Lieutenant in consultation with the Duty Officer and Administrative Duty Officer at other times	Reasonable belief the person ingested or concealed contraband in a body cavity and the § 552.11 methods are inappropriate or likely to injure	Form BP-A0308 Administrative Detention Order, a daily log and a SHU record. Urine sample within 2 hours of placement and a second before release — PS 5521.06 at p. 9
Medical x-ray	§ 552.13(b)	Non-repetitive x-ray examination to find concealed contraband	Ordered by the institution physician; authorized by the Warden upon approval of the Regional Director. Neither may redelegate	No reasonable alternative, and the examination is necessary for security, good order or discipline. Not performed if the physician determines it is likely to cause serious or lasting injury	BP-A0313, with a copy to the authorizing Regional Director; documentation in both central file and medical file. Consent solicited, not required — PS 5521.06 at p. 12–[p. 13]
Major instrument / surgical intrusion	§ 552.13(a)	Anoscope, vaginal speculum, or surgical intrusion	Institution physician	Medical reasons only	The person’s consent is required — this is the one search on the ladder that cannot be done over an objection — PS 5521.06 at p. 12
Housing and work area search	§ 552.14	Search of the living area, work area, and personal items within them	Staff; work areas are searched each work day by shop supervisors, supplemented by search teams	Nothing. No notice, no prior approval, and the person need not be present	Written documentation of each housing unit search kept in the unit. The Captain keeps search-team inspection records — PS 5521.06 at p. 13–[p. 14]

Three rules govern the whole ladder and are worth reading in the regulation’s own words, at 28 C.F.R. § 552.10: staff “shall employ the least intrusive method of search practicable, as indicated by the type of contraband and the method of suspected introduction”; “non-intrusive sensors should be used whenever feasible”; and when searches are required, staff “shall avoid unnecessary force and strive to preserve the dignity of the individual being searched.”

Those are enforceable standards written by the Bureau against itself. When a search goes wrong, the least-intrusive-method sentence and the dignity sentence are the language to quote in a BP-8 informal resolution, filed through the electronic Request to Staff Service in TRULINCS (the paper form BP-A0148 is now only for people the Warden has exempted and those in a Protective Custody Unit) — not a general complaint that the search was humiliating. Where a search escalates into physical control, a separate policy takes over: see use of force and restraints.

Pat searches, and the one limit on who may perform them

A pat search is the search most people encounter most often: moving between compounds, entering the chow hall, leaving the visiting room, returning from a work detail. It requires no suspicion and no reason at all — “staff may conduct a pat search of an inmate on a routine or random basis to control contraband,” 28 C.F.R. § 552.11(b).

The one hard limit comes from the Prison Rape Elimination Act standards rather than from part 552. 28 C.F.R. § 115.15(b) bars cross-gender pat-down searches of women in adult prisons absent exigent circumstances, and PS 5521.06 implements it directly: male staff “are not permitted to pat-search female inmates, unless exigent circumstances exist,” with “exigent circumstances” defined at 28 C.F.R. § 115.5 as “any set of temporary and unforeseen circumstances that require immediate action in order to combat a threat to the security or institutional order of a facility” — PS 5521.06 at p. 5.

The policy adds a procedural safeguard that is easy to enforce and easy to overlook. Every opposite-sex pat search of a woman by a male staff member requires a memorandum establishing the identity of everyone involved and the circumstances giving rise to the search, submitted to the Lieutenants’ Office and forwarded to the PREA Compliance Manager. The policy states the memorandum requirement exists in part “to protect staff from unfounded allegations” — but it works in both directions, because it creates a dated record. If a woman at a federal women’s facility was pat-searched by a male officer, that memorandum either exists or it does not, and its absence is itself a fact. See the Bureau’s PREA and Female Offender Manual policies.

The policy also states that “electronic searches are not substitutes for pat searches” and that random pat searches “remain a primary security and management tool,” which is why a scanner at the door does not reduce the number of hands-on searches.

Visual searches, dry cells and the intrusive end of the ladder

A visual search — what everyone calls a strip search — is a visual inspection of all body surfaces and body cavities. It is not a touching search. Under § 552.11(c) staff may conduct one where there is reasonable belief contraband is concealed or where a good opportunity for concealment has occurred, and the regulation gives its own examples: placement in a special housing unit, leaving the institution, or re-entry after contact with the public.

PS 5521.06 adds a rule most people are surprised by: “Except in minimum security institutions, inmates must undergo a visual search when leaving the institution, for whatever reason (even when being released)” — at p. 6. Other listed occasions include processing in through Receiving and Discharge, placement in the Control Unit, and periodic searches of people returning from outside work details. The special housing unit policy governs the SHU placements the regulation cross-references.

Same-sex staff must conduct the search unless delay would mean the likely loss of contraband, and where an opposite-sex staff member does conduct one, the reasons must go in the central file. Beyond that, “a staff member may not perform routine visual searches of inmates of the opposite sex, such as could be required by assignment to such posts as the visiting room and receiving and discharge units” — PS 5521.06 at p. 7.

Dry cell status is the next rung, and its limits are the part families most need to know. Under § 552.12 a person believed to have swallowed or internally concealed contraband can be placed in a bare cell with the water shut off, under constant observation, until they void the item. The safeguards, from PS 5521.06 at p. 8–[p. 11]:

• Placement is authorized by the Warden or designee; outside regular hours, ordinarily by the Operations Lieutenant in consultation with the Duty Officer and Administrative Duty Officer.
• A person held for as long as three days must be reviewed by the Segregation Review Official, and “the initial SRO review conducted within three work days shall be a formal hearing” — an in-person hearing, not the record review that ordinary administrative detention gets.
• Continuing dry cell status beyond seven days requires the Warden’s approval, in consultation with the Captain and qualified health personnel.
• A urine sample is required within two hours of placement and a second before release.
• The supervising staff member must be the same sex, must maintain constant visual supervision, must be relieved rather than leave the person unattended, and the person must be given a visual search and their living area searched at least once each shift, “being careful not to set a pattern.”
• The light stays on at all times. No contact with any other person. No personal property except legal and personal mail and a reasonable amount of legal materials on request. The same meals as general population unless medically contraindicated, and “no laxatives may be given except natural laxatives, i.e., coffee, prune juice.”

The policy also records a practical judgment about who dry cell status works on: “Ordinarily, when staff believe that a female inmate has concealed contraband in her vagina, dry cell status is not the appropriate search method, since it is possible for her to thus conceal contraband for an extended period of time” — PS 5521.06 at p. 8. Where dry cell is not appropriate, the pressure shifts to the § 552.13 x-ray route, which needs Regional Director approval.

Cell and work area shakedowns

The rule is short and there is no way to argue around it. 28 C.F.R. § 552.14(a): “Staff may search an inmate’s housing and work area, and personal items contained within those areas, without notice to or prior approval from the inmate and without the inmate’s presence.”

The Supreme Court settled the constitutional question in Hudson v. Palmer, 468 U.S. 517 (1984), holding “that society is not prepared to recognize as legitimate any subjective expectation of privacy that a prisoner might have in his prison cell and that, accordingly, the Fourth Amendment proscription against unreasonable searches does not apply within the confines of the prison cell.” The Court also endorsed the state court’s view that “wholly random searches are essential to the effective security of penal institutions.” Five years earlier, in Bell v. Wolfish, 441 U.S. 520 (1979), the Court had upheld the very rule that keeps people out of their own cells during a search, reasoning that “the room-search rule simply facilitates the safe and effective performance of the search which all concede may be conducted.”

What Hudson does not do is leave someone without any remedy. The Court was explicit that its holding “does not mean that he is without a remedy for calculated harassment unrelated to prison needs. Nor does it mean that prison attendants can ride roughshod over inmates’ property rights with impunity. The Eighth Amendment always stands as a protection against ‘cruel and unusual punishments.'” That sentence is the doctrinal hook for a shakedown conducted to punish rather than to find anything.

Policy fills in what the Constitution does not require. Each institution must establish procedures ensuring all housing units and work areas are searched “routinely, but irregularly,” to detect contraband, prevent escapes, maintain sanitary standards and eliminate fire and safety hazards. Staff “shall leave the housing or work area as nearly as practicable in its original order.” Written documentation of each housing unit search is kept within the housing unit, and the Captain maintains documentation of search team inspections — PS 5521.06 at p. 13–[p. 14]. Where a religious article’s legitimacy is in question, the Chaplain is to be consulted, under the Bureau’s religious beliefs and practices policy. What may lawfully be in the cell in the first place is set by the inmate personal property policy and each institution’s own property supplement — see our pages on inmate housing and prison clothes and bedding.

Two of those are useful. “As nearly as practicable in its original order” is the standard a destroyed-cell complaint is measured against. And the required written documentation of every housing unit search is a discrete record that can be requested — an obvious first ask when someone says a unit was hit three times in a week. Our prison grievances page covers how to request it.

Electronic screening: metal detectors, whole body imaging and the ion scanner

Whole body imaging devices — the ionizing-radiation scanners — are governed by PS 5522.03, and they are treated as an electronic device search under § 552.11(a), not as the “medical x-ray device” of § 552.13. The policy says so directly: “WBI systems do not constitute a medical x-ray device as referenced in the Program Statement Searches of Housing Units, Inmates, and Inmate Work Areas” — PS 5522.03 at p. 3. That distinction is why a body scan needs no Regional Director approval while a medical x-ray does.

The dose limits are published and specific, which is unusual. The annual limit set by ANSI/HPS N43.17-2009 is 250 μSv per year per person scanned, and Attachment A converts that into scan counts by machine:

Effective dose per scan	Example device	Max scans per year	Max scans per day (250 work days)
0.05 μSv (5 μrem)	—	5,000	20
0.10 μSv (10 μrem)	AS&E Smartcheck; Rapiscan Secure 1000	2,500	10
0.15 μSv (15 μrem)	—	1,667	6
0.20 μSv (20 μrem)	—	1,250	5
0.25 μSv (25 μrem)	Virtual Imaging SecurPASS; Smiths Detection B-Scan	1,000	4

PS 5522.03 at p. 8. The systems have embedded software to track and limit scans per person so annual exposure limits are not exceeded, radiation surveys must be performed on installation and “at least once every 12 months,” and the operator dose limit is an annual effective dose of 1 micro-sievert. Cross-gender viewing of images is permitted only where BOP-tested privacy filters are in place; investigative staff of the same sex, authorized by the Warden, may retrieve unfiltered images for an internal or criminal investigation; and inmates “must never be allowed to see the monitor” — though a person facing disciplinary action “may view the image being used as evidence,” PS 5522.03 at p. 4. Refusing to be scanned is itself referred for discipline. Screening negative means proceeding; screening positive means further examination under PS 5521.06. Full detail on our whole body imaging policy page.

Ion spectrometry is the swab-and-analyze device used mainly on visitors and mail, and it received a new policy on 7 May 2026. See the next section — the change matters.

What changed in 2025 and 2026

Most of the seven policies on this page were reissued in the last eighteen months — most recently the visitor-search policy, PS 5510.16 (3 September 2026), which replaced PS 5510.15 and adds a section on the Central Violations Bureau ticketing program (PS 5510.16 at pp. 1, 20). No competing page reflects any of it.

PS 5521.06 CN-1, 6 March 2025 — searches of inmates. The Change Notice, approved by Associate Deputy Director Kathleen Toomey, states it “removes language to ensure consistency with Executive Orders issued by the Executive Office of the President.” Two things happened, both at PS 5521.06 at p. 1–[p. 2]. First, throughout the policy, “the term ‘gender’ has been replaced with ‘sex’ and the term ‘cross-gender’ has been replaced with ‘opposite sex.'” Second — and this is the substantive one — the paragraph allowing a transgender person to request a pre-authorized exception to the pat-search rule was struck and replaced with: “Inmates will be pat searched according to the sex of the institution or housing assignment, where they are assigned.” The prior text had permitted a warden-authorized exception developed in consultation with Health Services, Psychology Services, Unit Management and Correctional Services, recorded in SENTRY, with a personal identifier the person carried. That mechanism is no longer in the policy. The Bureau’s gender dysphoria management policy is the remaining place to look.

PS 5524.01, 7 May 2026 — ion spectrometry. The new policy rescinds PS 5522.02 (4/1/2015), moves the program from the 5522 to the 5524 number, and makes one change that reaches directly into the disciplinary process. From its Summary of Changes at p. 1, it “updates the Ion Spectrometry Device Program authorizing staff to initiate inmate discipline proceedings based on a positive test result for an illegal substance, even when a tangible quantity of illegal substance cannot be observed or collected.” The operative text at p. 12 reads: “Staff may initiate inmate discipline proceedings based solely on a positive ion spectrometry device test result for an illegal substance, even in circumstances in which no observable or tangible amount of illegal substance(s) can be confiscated.”

That is a significant shift, and anyone facing an incident report resting on an ion scan alone should understand what the policy itself requires before the charge is defensible. The staff member who ran the device must preserve the tested object and draft a detailed memorandum covering the incident, the testing process, and the results including an explanation of the printout; the supporting documents must include color photographs of the item, a chain of custody, and a copy of the printout — PS 5524.01 at p. 12. The policy also states the charge is supported “in conjunction with the tested item itself (e.g., a piece of incoming mail or package), when that item can be connected to a specific inmate.” A missing chain of custody, an unpreserved item, or a failure to connect the item to a person are all things to raise at the hearing. The policy separately removed “the requirement to fulfill bargaining obligations with the Union before initiating a staff search utilizing the ion spectrometry device.”

PS 5514.01, 7 May 2026 — drug and alcohol testing. This policy rescinds two very old ones — PS 6060.08, Urine Surveillance and Narcotic Identification (3/8/2001), and PS 6590.07, Alcohol Surveillance and Testing Program (12/31/1996) — merges them, and moves the program into the 5000 series. It sets random testing at five percent of each institution’s total inmate population, monthly, at all security levels (PS 5514.01 at p. 3), and cuts “prior act” testing from monthly for 24 months down to monthly for 12 months at a minimum (at p. 4).

PS 5525.01, 7 May 2026 — lockdowns and modified operations. The Bureau’s first dedicated lockdown policy names “Mass Contraband Searches” as a listed reason for a lockdown — “to conduct comprehensive searches for weapons, drugs, illegal communication devices, or other contraband without the risk of items being passed or hidden during movement,” PS 5525.01 at p. 4. It also, for the first time, sets minimum conditions. See the lockdown section below.

Drug and alcohol testing

Six categories of testing run in parallel under PS 5514.01 and 28 C.F.R. §§ 550.30–550.31. Being on more than one list at once is normal; a single test conducted in the right window can satisfy several requirements at once.

Category	Who is tested	How often	Source
Random	5% of the institution’s total population (satellite camp population is combined with the main facility)	Monthly	PS 5514.01 at p. 3
Community activities	At least 50% of people involved in unescorted trips, furloughs or gate passes	Frequency set by the Warden	PS 5514.01 at p. 3
Disruptive groups	Every validated member; people coded drop-out or inactive are excluded	Once each month	PS 5514.01 at p. 4
Suspect	People identified through intelligence — mail or phone monitoring, incident investigation, behavior, staff observation	3 tests, irregularly, within a 3-month period	PS 5514.01 at p. 4
Saturation	A targeted group — a housing unit, a work detail	As directed	PS 5514.01 at p. 4
Prior act	People found guilty by the DHO of refusing a sample, or introduction, use or possession of alcohol, drugs or paraphernalia	Monthly for 12 months minimum from the date of the DHO finding	PS 5514.01 at p. 4–[p. 5]

The collection rule is the one that produces the most incident reports, and it is worth quoting exactly. Under 28 C.F.R. § 550.31(a), if someone “is unwilling to provide a urine sample within two hours of a request for it, staff ordinarily shall file an incident report.” Staff must offer eight ounces of water at the beginning of the two-hour period and keep the person under direct visual supervision throughout. Then: “An inmate is presumed to be unwilling if the inmate fails to provide a urine sample within the allotted time period. An inmate may rebut this presumption during the disciplinary process.”

That final sentence is the entire defense to a refusal charge for someone with a prostate condition, a neurogenic bladder, or a medication that causes retention, and it is written into the regulation. The rebuttal belongs at the hearing, supported by the medical record — which is why requesting the medical file early matters. Refusing to provide a sample is Code 110, a Greatest severity prohibited act (PS 5270.09 at p. 45) — the same severity level as possessing drugs. There is no waiting period for someone who directly and specifically refuses. Our alcohol and drugs page and the drug testing and urine surveillance policy page go further.

When visitors are searched

Visitors are covered by a different policy, PS 5510.16, and by 28 C.F.R. part 511 rather than part 552. The threshold fact is consent by entry: “By entering or attempting to enter a Bureau facility or Bureau grounds, non-inmates consent to being searched,” 28 C.F.R. § 511.14, and a sign in English and Spanish at every entrance says so — PS 5510.16 at p. 4.

The methods available differ from the inmate ladder in three important ways:

• Random visual searches of a visitor’s person are prohibited. A visual search of a visitor — removing all articles of clothing for a non-tactile inspection — “must always be authorized by the Warden or his/her designee and based on reasonable suspicion; random visual searches are prohibited” — PS 5510.16 at p. 11.
• Body cavity (tactile) searches of non-inmates are prohibited outright. 28 C.F.R. § 511.16(c)(1)(iv), quoted at PS 5510.16 at p. 11.
• Religious headwear gets extra protection. It is treated as part of the person, not their belongings; random pat searches should not ordinarily include removing it; and except in emergencies the Warden must authorize a pat or visual search of it, after weighing named factors — PS 5510.16 at pp. 10–11. Headwear that obscures the face must be moved enough to reveal the face for identification, which needs no special authorization.

Vehicle searches have their own choreography: a minimum of two staff; the driver present if reasonably available and at least 20 feet from the vehicle under direct supervision of one of them; keys for locked compartments handed over rather than used by the driver, with refusal treated as refusal of the search; and staff “may not pry, force, or break open any areas to obtain access” — PS 5510.16 at p. 12.

The ion scanner escalation ladder is the piece families ask about most, and PS 5524.01 sets it out precisely. A “confirmed positive test result” is defined as an initial positive, followed by a clear test, followed by a positive confirmation test for the same substance — PS 5524.01 at p. 2. A single unconfirmed positive should not cost a visit: “If a negative clear test cannot be obtained and testing is halted for the day, visitors should not be denied entry solely on an unconfirmed initial positive test result,” at p. 9.

Confirmed positive	Consequence	Source
First	Pat and/or vehicle search at the Warden’s discretion. If the search is negative, the Warden may allow a controlled or non-contact visit. Refusal or failure to submit means the visit is denied. The visitor may seek re-entry after 48 hours	PS 5524.01 at p. 10
Second	Visiting privileges suspended 30 days	PS 5524.01 at p. 10
Third	Visiting privileges suspended 90 days	PS 5524.01 at p. 10
Fourth and subsequent	Visiting privileges suspended 180 days	PS 5524.01 at p. 10

Two more things a visitor should know. A confirmed positive puts them on a mandatory-testing list “for a period of one year from the date of the last confirmed positive test result,” after which they return to random testing (PS 5524.01 at p. 6). And a denial is appealable in writing to the Warden, then to the Regional Director, then to the Assistant Director, Correctional Programs Division — the appeal may include a physician’s verification of a prescribed substance, and the visitor receives form BP-A0732, which explains how to appeal (PS 5524.01 at p. 10 and [p. 13]).

Be aware of one asymmetry that is written into the policy: “Visitors must not be informed of the type of substance for which they tested positive,” to prevent a fabricated physician’s verification. So the appeal is filed without knowing what the machine reported. Staff may say only that the device is calibrated to register a positive “only at levels greater than would normally be encountered through casual contact.” Refusing the test is not, by itself, a basis for detention or for calling law enforcement — though the refusal is reported to SIS for intelligence purposes. More on our visitation page, the searching and detaining visitors policy, the ion spectrometry policy and the visiting regulations.

What counts as contraband

The definition is broad by design. 28 C.F.R. § 500.1(h) defines contraband as “material prohibited by law, or by regulation, or material that can reasonably be expected to cause physical injury or adversely affect the security, safety, or good order of the institution.”

But the useful distinction is the one drawn in PS 5580.10, the personal property policy reissued 7 May 2026, reproducing 28 C.F.R. § 553.12. It sets a safe harbor first: an item is ordinarily not contraband if the person was authorized to keep it on admission, it was issued by authorized staff, it was purchased from the commissary, or it came through approved channels.

Type	Definition	Examples the policy gives
Hard contraband	Any item that threatens the safety, security or good order of the facility or protection of the public, and which ordinarily is not approved for possession or admission	Weapons; intoxicants; currency where prohibited; tools that may aid an escape (e.g., rope); ammunition or explosives; combustible or flammable liquids; knives or tools not issued under the Correctional Services Manual; hazardous or poisonous chemicals and gases; narcotics or controlled substances not dispensed or approved by Health Services; medication in the possession of someone for whom it is not prescribed
Nuisance contraband	Any item other than hard contraband that has never been authorized, or was authorized but is prohibited when it presents a threat, or whose condition or quantity presents a health, fire or housekeeping hazard	Property no longer permitted for admission or commissary sale; altered personal property; excessive accumulation of commissary, newspapers, letters or magazines that cannot be stored neatly; spoiled food or food kept past safe consumption; altered government-issued items, or items made from government property without staff authorization

PS 5580.10 at p. 11–[p. 12]. The policy adds one more rule that catches people out constantly: “Items which cannot be searched without destruction or items which appear to be altered are not permitted in the institution.”

A separate definition operates on the visitor side, and it explains why tobacco triggers a response out of proportion to its street value. Dangerous contraband under PS 5510.16 at p. 3 covers drugs, weapons, explosives and poisons — and then adds: “Tobacco products and paraphernalia are considered dangerous contraband due to their potential value to inmates who are prohibited from using them in facilities.” We explain that logic on our pages about smoking in prison and the prison black market.

Finally, the criminal-law definition. 18 U.S.C. § 1791 — providing or possessing contraband in prison — uses a different term, “prohibited object,” and a tiered list at § 1791(d)(1). It reaches both someone who provides an object to a person in prison and the person in prison who “makes, possesses, or obtains, or attempts to make or obtain” one.

What happens when contraband is found

Two tracks run, and they are independent of one another. Neither one waits for the other.

Track one: the disciplinary process. Staff notify the Operations Lieutenant, secure the item in a plastic evidence bag, and maintain documentation and a chain of evidence — PS 5521.06 at p. 9. A BP-A0288 incident report follows. The charge depends on what was found:

Code	Act	Severity	Available good-conduct-time sanction
104	Possession, manufacture or introduction of a gun, firearm, weapon, sharpened instrument, knife, dangerous chemical, explosive, ammunition, or any instrument used as a weapon	Greatest	Disallow ordinarily 50–75% (27–41 days)
108	Possession, manufacture, introduction or loss of a hazardous tool — including a “portable telephone, pager, or other electronic device,” hacksaw blade, body armor, maps, handmade rope	Greatest	Disallow ordinarily 50–75% (27–41 days)
111 / 112 / 113	Introduction or making / use / possession of narcotics, marijuana, drugs, alcohol, intoxicants or related paraphernalia not prescribed by medical staff	Greatest	Disallow ordinarily 50–75% (27–41 days)
115	Destroying and/or disposing of any item during a search or attempt to search	Greatest	Disallow ordinarily 50–75% (27–41 days)
110	Refusing to provide a urine sample or breathe into a Breathalyzer	Greatest	Disallow ordinarily 50–75% (27–41 days)
226	Possession of stolen property	High	Disallow ordinarily 25–50% (14–27 days)
305	Possession of anything not authorized for retention or receipt, and not issued through regular channels	Moderate	Disallow ordinarily up to 25% (1–14 days)
331	Possession, manufacture, introduction or loss of a non-hazardous tool or other non-hazardous contraband — expressly including food, cosmetics, cleaning supplies, and “smoking apparatus and tobacco in any form where prohibited”	Moderate	Disallow ordinarily up to 25% (1–14 days)

PS 5270.09 at p. 45–[p. 53]; the binding version is Table 1 at 28 C.F.R. § 541.3. Disciplinary segregation runs up to 12 months at the Greatest level, 6 months at High and 3 months at Moderate. Note Code 115 specifically: throwing something away as staff approach is its own Greatest severity offense, carrying the same sanction range as possessing the item would have. Our inmate discipline proceedings page walks through the hearing.

The evidentiary standard at the hearing is low. Under Superintendent, Mass. Correctional Institution at Walpole v. Hill, 472 U.S. 445 (1985), due process requires only that a finding be supported by “some evidence in the record,” and reviewing that “does not require examination of the entire record, independent assessment of the credibility of witnesses, or weighing of the evidence.” Low is not nothing — the Court still requires “some basis in fact” — but it means the work has to be done at the hearing, not on appeal.

Track two: criminal prosecution. PS 5521.06 states that “procedures for disposition of contraband found shall be developed locally and in accordance with the FBI and U.S. Attorney requirements for possible prosecution” — at p. 13. The statute is 18 U.S.C. § 1791, and the penalty depends entirely on the category of object:

Object	Maximum	Statute
Narcotic drug, methamphetamine, LSD, or PCP	20 years	§ 1791(b)(1), (d)(1)(C)
Firearm or destructive device, or a Schedule I or II controlled substance	10 years	§ 1791(b)(2), (d)(1)(A)
Marijuana or Schedule III substance; ammunition; a weapon other than a firearm; an object designed or intended as a weapon or to facilitate escape	5 years	§ 1791(b)(3), (d)(1)(B)
Any other controlled substance; an alcoholic beverage; US or foreign currency; a phone or other commercial mobile service device	1 year	§ 1791(b)(4), (d)(1)(D)–(F)
Any other object that threatens the order, discipline or security of a prison, or the life, health or safety of an individual	6 months	§ 1791(b)(5), (d)(1)(G)

And the sentence stacks. Under § 1791(c), any punishment “for a violation of this section by an inmate of a prison shall be consecutive to the sentence being served by such inmate at the time the inmate commits such violation,” and any punishment for a violation involving a controlled substance is consecutive to any other sentence for an offense involving that substance. A federal contraband conviction is time added to the end, not time absorbed. If a § 1791 charge is on the table, that is the point to get defense counsel involved.

Lockdowns and mass contraband searches

Until 7 May 2026 the Bureau had no dedicated lockdown policy. PS 5525.01 now defines a lockdown as “a total cessation of normal institution operations,” authorized only by the Warden or designee and limited “to situations having broad security implications which cannot be isolated or resolved to allow for lesser security restrictions” — at p. 2. Modified operations are the lesser, targeted alternative, and the policy directs institutions to prefer them: they “must prioritize these localized interventions over institution-wide lockdowns” — at p. 3. A third category, temporarily secured, covers short events such as a preliminary investigation, and “ordinarily should not extend past one operational shift” — at p. 3.

The reason this matters to a family is that the policy now sets floors, and floors can be cited.

Requirement	The floor	Source
Showers	At least three times per calendar week (Sunday–Saturday)	PS 5525.01 at p. 6
Meals	At least three meals within a 24-hour period, one served hot daily absent exigent circumstances. “Food must never be withheld or its quality varied as a disciplinary measure”	PS 5525.01 at p. 7
Welfare checks	Housing unit officers observe each person once per hour, not to exceed 60 minutes between rounds, documented in TRUSCOPE	PS 5525.01 at p. 7
Lockdown over 3 days	A mental health professional visits affected units at least weekly; department heads visit each affected area at least once per week, both documented	PS 5525.01 at p. 7
Lockdown over 3 days	Affected people must be notified of the anticipated schedule, restrictions, how essential services will be handled, the basic rationale, and an anticipated return to normal	PS 5525.01 at p. 4–[p. 5]
Lockdown over 7 days	Opportunity to purchase limited commissary — OTC medication and hygiene at minimum; generally a $25.00 limit at least bi-weekly	PS 5525.01 at p. 7
Lockdown over 14 days	A reasonable amount of general commissary; generally a $50.00 limit at least bi-weekly, not including OTC and hygiene. May be increased or decreased at the Warden’s discretion, or withheld where hoarding is a security concern	PS 5525.01 at p. 7
Lockdown over 24 hours	The institution “must explore alternative legal access arrangements”; legal visitation and access to counsel “must be prioritized and maintained”	PS 5525.01 at p. 8
Visitation canceled	The institution “must immediately post a notification on its official website”	PS 5525.01 at p. 5, [p. 8]
Medical	Continued access to chronic care clinics, subspecialty consults, emergency care and mental health services; daily distribution of self-carry medications; a procedure to ensure continued sick-call sign-ups	PS 5525.01 at p. 6

Every lockdown and modified operation must be documented by the Captain on form BP-A1188 and emailed to the Correctional Services Branch by the 5th of the following month — PS 5525.01 at p. 5. Anything expected to exceed 24 hours requires formal Incident Command System documentation (ICS 201, 202 and 214). Full detail on our lockdowns and modified operations policy page, and on our pages about inmate counts and inmate housing. The commissary limits above are ordinary-dollar caps on what may be bought during the lockdown, not the monthly limit — see commissary and canteen items and the trust fund and commissary policy — and the meal standards sit alongside the food service policy and our page on what you eat in prison.

Applied Insight — Christopher Zoukis, JD, MBA, Managing Director: When a family calls about a lockdown, the useful question is not “when will it end” — nobody outside the institution can answer that. It is “which floor is being missed.” Three showers a week, three meals a day, hourly rounds, weekly mental-health visits after day three, commissary after day seven — those are written, dated, checkable standards, and a request to staff that names the specific paragraph is a different document from a request that says conditions are bad.

Getting confiscated property back

This is the part of a shakedown that people can actually do something about, and the deadlines are short.

Under 28 C.F.R. § 553.13, reproduced in PS 5580.10 at p. 12–[p. 14]:

1. Confiscated personal property is inventoried, and staff “shall provide the inmate with a copy of the inventory as soon as practicable.” A copy also goes in the central file. Form BP-A0402, Confiscation and Disposition of Contraband, is completed.
2. The person has seven days following receipt of the inventory to provide evidence of ownership.
3. If ownership is established but the item is contraband, staff mail it — anything other than hard contraband — at the person’s expense to an address they choose. The Warden may authorize the institution to pay postage where the item was unaltered and originally permitted or commissary-purchased, or where the person has insufficient funds and no likelihood of receiving any.
4. Property is ordinarily held thirty days before destruction, so the person can obtain proof of ownership or appeal through the Administrative Remedy Program. If they appeal, the property is held until the appeal is complete.
5. Destruction requires written documentation and the signature of the destroying staff member plus at least one witness.

Two ownership rules defeat most claims and are worth knowing before filing. “A claim of ownership may not be accepted for an item made from the unauthorized use of government property.” And: “Items obtained from another inmate (for example, through purchase, or as a gift) without staff authorization may be considered nuisance contraband for which a claim of ownership is ordinarily not accepted” — PS 5580.10 at p. 13. That single sentence is why a receipt matters and why anything acquired informally is effectively unrecoverable. Religious items get an extra step: the Chaplain must be consulted about their validity before disposition.

If property was lost or destroyed rather than properly confiscated, the routes are the property claims process for small claims and the Federal Tort Claims Act for larger ones. The thirty-day hold is the window for proving ownership or appealing before the property is destroyed; the claims themselves run on their own clocks — one year to present a small claim under 31 U.S.C. § 3723(b), and two years to present a tort claim under 28 U.S.C. § 2401(b).

Where people get stuck with searches and shakedowns

“They shook down his cell three times in a week and trashed it.” Ask for two documents: the written housing-unit search documentation required to be maintained within the unit, and the Captain’s search-team inspection records (PS 5521.06 at p. 14). The standard is that staff “shall leave the housing or work area as nearly as practicable in its original order” (at p. 14). Hudson v. Palmer forecloses a Fourth Amendment privacy claim about the cell itself but preserves an Eighth Amendment claim for “calculated harassment unrelated to prison needs.”

“He got a shot from a swab, and they never found anything.” That is now expressly permitted by PS 5524.01 at p. 12 — but only with the supporting record the policy requires: a preserved item, a detailed staff memorandum explaining the testing process and the printout, color photographs, chain of custody, and a copy of the printout. Request all of it at the hearing.

“My visit was canceled because the machine went off.” Check which rung of the ladder applies. A first confirmed positive is not a suspension — it is a search, and if the search is negative the Warden may allow a controlled or non-contact visit; re-entry may be sought after 48 hours. Suspensions start at the second occurrence. The appeal runs Warden → Regional Director → Assistant Director, CPD, and form BP-A0732 explains it.

“He was put in a dry cell and nobody told us anything.” The authorizations and time limits are specific and reviewable: SRO formal hearing within three work days, Warden’s approval to continue past seven days, urine samples at placement and release, same-sex supervision, constant observation. Those are the facts to establish first.

“They took his radio and he never got a receipt.” The inventory copy is required “as soon as practicable” and the seven-day ownership clock runs from receipt of it — so if no inventory was provided, say so in writing immediately and date the request. Everything after that depends on the thirty-day hold.

Frequently Asked Questions About Searches and Contraband

Reviewed for legal accuracy by Elizabeth Franklin-Best, Esq., Principal Attorney·September 2026