A class action lawsuit has been filed against the county alleging illegal strip searches were conducted at the county prison. The lawsuit was filed in the US District Court in Philadelphia and claims the uniform practice and procedure of Lancaster County and the Lancaster County Prison Board to force those charged with misdemeanors, summary violations and similar charges to undergo the indignities of a strip search upon transfer and/or entry into the Lancaster County Prison is illegal, insensitive, unnecessary, and offensive.
The class action was filed on behalf of thousands of citizens who were unconstitutionally strip searched at the county prison over the past years. The lawsuit seeks monetary damages on behalf of the proposed class and claims some inmates were strip searched in view of other inmates.
County prison warden Vincent Guarini noted that the county has no blanket policy for strip searching every person sent to the prison, but that anyone coming into the prison can be strip searched if the officer feels it is necessary for any reason whatsoever. Guarini says they have no policy that says every person must be strip searched and believes their policy is in accordance with the guidelines of Pennsylvania state and the federal government. According to the warden, strip searches are conducted to make sure the person being searched is not carrying any contraband, such as weapons or drugs, into the prison.
