Press Release: ACLU of Ga. Opposes Fulton County’s Plan to Acquire Atlanta City Detention Center

ATLANTA - The Fulton County Commission's legislative affairs team will work with state legislators on a bill requiring the City of Atlanta to sell the Atlanta City Detention Center ("ACDC") to Fulton County. This sale would significantly expand Fulton County's carceral footprint and position all of Metro Atlanta's adult detention centers under Fulton County's jurisdiction.

Overcrowding has been an issue at the Fulton County Jail for decades, and the Commission views the ACDC acquisition as a solution that could reduce the population at the Rice Street facility.

There have been more than 10 deaths at the Fulton County Jail in the last year. Fulton County's ownership of the detention center would do nothing to reduce the number of people who are incarcerated. It would merely result in a shuffling of people between facilities and enable the county jail system to criminalize more people. The ACLU of Georgia opposes these criminalization attempts and will work diligently to prevent passage of the legislation at the state capitol.

"Acquiring ACDC distracts from effective solutions like diversion programs and mental health support that actually reduce jail populations," said Christopher Bruce, director of policy and advocacy at the ACLU of Georgia. "There are innumerable atrocities that plague the Fulton County Jail, including misuse of funds and a devastating number of jail deaths; adding the ACDC to Fulton County's purview would only exacerbate the existing, unresolved issues."

According to the ACLU of Georgia's 2022 jail report, "There are Better Solutions," deaths at the Rice Street facility, as well as over-incarceration in general, could have been prevented if Fulton County deployed rehabilitative options that reduce recidivism and provide needed resources. The report found that many people incarcerated at the Fulton County Jail remain there much longer than they should simply because of their inability to afford bond or pay fees.