2022-07-15

LJUBLJANA - What is the cost of security companies, such as G4S? One way of calculating the harm is counting the dead and the injured. 

Around the globe, the private security company G4S has often been in the spotlight regarding its sometimes controversial involvement in conflict zones, its prison operations and the treatment of employees. Journalists from eleven countries and five continents teamed up to try to quantify the human cost of G4S’ watch.

The collected data spans the period between 2015 and 2020, with some cases also from 2021.

The team collected data on 619 cases of deaths and injuries mostly of detainees or prisoners of institutions guarded by G4S, as well as on deaths and injuries among the security staff. However, they focused their analysis on the 38 percent of cases where G4S’ (in)direct involvement could be confirmed.

Most of the deaths recorded by Oštro’s team from the information and documents procured by reporters occurred in G4S-run prisons in the UK, Australia and South Africa. The causes varied from drug abuse to stabbing with the company mostly playing a passive role, meaning that the company was proven to or alleged to not have had adequate control over the flows of dangerous substances and sufficient protection for the victims placed under its care. 
 

© Lars Schmidt

Team members

Maja Čakarić

Maja Čakarić is an investigative journalist and a podcast co-creator, based in Slovenia.

Klara Škrinjar

Klara Škrinjar is a freelance journalist at Oštro, Center for Investigative Journalism in the Adriatic region. 

 

Gerald Bermúdez

Gerald Bermúdez is a Colombian documentary photographer and a journalist. 

Ruth Hopkins

Ruth Hopkins is a freelance journalist based in South Africa and the UK. 

Harry Karanikas

Harry Karanikas is an investigative reporter in print and digital media and a producer of various investigative broadcasts on Greek TV.

Varsha Torgalkar

Varsha Torgalkar is an India-based independent journalist.

Khaled Sulaiman

Khaled Sulaiman is an environmental journalist from Iraqi Kurdistan.

Jackie Wahome

Jackie Wahome is a Kenyan lawyer working to promote access to information and civic engagement.

Gregory Gondwe

Gregory Gondwe is an award-winning investigative journalist.

Ibrahim Apekhade Yusuf

Ibrahim Apekhade Yusuf is a multiple award-winning journalist.

Lisa Riordan Seville

Lisa is an independent reporter and producer based in Brooklyn, New York. 

Nils Mulvad

Nils Mulvad is an investigative journalist, affiliated with Investigative Reporting Denmark. 

Anuška Delić

Anuška Delić is a founder and editor-in-chief at Oštro, Center for investigative journalism in the Adriatic region.

Anuška Delić

Matej Zwitter

Matej Zwitter is a qualified engineer from Slovenia who strayed into the domain of journalism. 

Supported
€7.000 allocated on 31/07/2019
ID
ECB/2019/OSF3/524

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