Staff at US prison told to stop asking female visitors to remove bras

Prison workers in the US state of Maine have been ordered to stop making women remove their bras to go through screening to visit inmates.

Corrections commissioner Joseph Fitzpatrick said he did not know that women were being required to remove undergarments after the bras apparently set off metal detectors.

Mr Fitzpatrick said he became aware of the complaints through news media reports.

The commissioner said he had not received any formal complaints.

In 2015, female lawyers visiting clients at Cumberland County Jail in Portland lodged complaints after being required to remove their underwire bras before they could meet their clients.

That policy was later rescinded as well.

AP