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G4S PLC

Bussy v. The GEO Group (Strip Search Class Action)

Date: 01/30/2008 (Date of Filing)

Misconduct Type: Human Rights

Enforcement Agency: Non-Governmental

Contracting Party: None

Court Type: Civil

Amount: $2,999,000

Disposition: Settlement

Synopsis: Stephen Dimitri Bussy filed a nationwide civil rights class action lawsuit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 challenging the practice of strip searches conducted in detention facilities operated by The GEO Group Inc. (f/k/a Wackenhut Corrections Corp.). In July 2007, Bussy was arrested and charged with DUI and transported to a jail in Pennsylvania operated by The GEO Group, where he was strip searched. The plaintiffs allege that The GEO Group’s policy of strip searching all pre-trial detainees regardless of the crime charged and in the absence of a reasonable suspicion that the detainee possesses weapons or contraband violates the Constitution. In May 2010, the parties settled the lawsuit for nearly $3 million. The agreement covers up to 10,000 inmates in six facilities who were subjected to strip searches upon admission between January 2005 and January 2008.