TOMS RIVER, N.J. (AP) - A New Jersey county will pay nearly $2 million to inmates who say they were unnecessarily strip-searched at the county jail.
The Asbury Park Press reports that Ocean County has agreed to settle the class-action lawsuit brought on behalf of inmates who were booked at the county jail in Toms River. The settlement applies to inmates who were booked between Nov. 28, 2005 and Dec. 28, 2007 and charged with non-indictable offenses.
The inmates argued they should have been excluded from the strip searches because they weren’t dangerous and often were released shortly after being placed into custody.
The county says the searches were necessary to stop contraband from entering the jail.
The county denies any wrongdoing. But it has changed its policies to eliminate strip searches to non-indictable detainees.
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