Have you ever seen a prisoner forcibly having his/her head shaved?

[Mist]

Some jails/prisons still seem to do this. Is it only done to men who have lice?

[TEXASCOP]

I would assume, the jail may have become infested with lice. I dunno though this is Ask a Cop, Not ask a health expert.

[Mist]

That's a good point.

[retdetsgt]

There are lots of treatments for lice w/o head shaving. You would have shave off all the body hair and that still wouldn't be all that effective.

[Legoate]

Never seen it done. I'd guess that you would have to get a court order to forcibly shave somebody's head, you need one for everything else. However, I've never even seen anyone attempt to do it- so I don't really know.

[Kimble]

I have never in my career as a local, county or federal law enforcement officer worked inside of a jail or correctional facility. Dropped off many folks I've arrested at one, but can't intelligently speak to specifics about why a correctional facility does what they do inside their walls. That's probably a question best answered by a corrections officer vice cops on the street.

[retdetsgt]

I believe Leogate is correct about a court order being required. In the 60's, when long hair was only fashionable by a few, some jails thought it would be okay to cut off hair, but lawsuits stopped the practice immediately.

[Mist]

Thanks for replying everyone!