Fulton County jail subcommittee issues 17 recommendations

(The Center Square) — A Georgia Senate subcommittee looking into the Fulton County Jail has issued a report with 17 recommendations for improving the facility’s conditions, including a suggestion that Fulton County Superior Court judges should carry full dockets.

The report caps a months-long review by the Senate Public Safety Subcommittee on the Fulton County Jail. The recommendations could guide legislative action when lawmakers return to Atlanta next year.

During a Friday morning media briefing, state Sen. Randy Robertson, R-Cataula, said county or state-level dysfunction often results from officials forgetting who their boss is: Taxpayers who want to live in safe communities.

"And for that to work properly, the sheriff has to get along with the county commission, who has to get along with the judiciary, who has to get along with the district attorney, and each one of those individuals must do their job the way they are required to do their job, the way the law says they must do their job," Robertson added. "And it is no longer an argument that I am a constitutional officer as to why things aren’t done."

The subcommittee met seven times between November 2023 and May 2024. Meetings focused on topics ranging from health care within the jail system to funding to the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office and its budget and personnel.

Fulton County commissioners should establish an advisory board with members representing the county commission, sheriff’s office, district attorney, court clerk and superior court.

The subcommittee recommended that Fulton County commissioners establish a task force to identify service, technology and staffing duplication in the criminal justice system. The subcommittee also recommended that the Fulton County district attorney and public defender establish policies to expedite cases of non-violent and non-sexual offenses and that the district attorney use a third party to conduct an audit to streamline people, processes and outdated technology.

In a Friday statement to The Center Square, Sheriff Patrick "Pat" Labat said he has welcomed the review and has "been cooperative and transparent" in providing information to the Subcommittee and the Fulton County Board of Commissioners.

"These findings echo my belief that the sheriff’s office and BOC should not be at odds, but rather work together for the betterment of the residents in our care at the Fulton County Jail and our overall Fulton County community," Labat said.

"...We are one of many spokes in the criminal justice system wheel. Often times we are caught in the middle when law enforcement agencies bring us residents and then we have to wait for them to move through the judicial process," Labat added. "In the meantime, we are dealing with a decades long aging infrastructure and a more violent arrestee. The crumbling facility puts the lives of the residents and our team at risk."

A spokesman for the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office did not respond to a request for comment.