Study sheds light on Fulton County’s overcrowding issues

November 7th, 2022

Atlanta City Detention Center. (Alison Guillory/WABE)

Alison Guillory / WABE

Tahir Duckett, the executive director of the Center for Innovations in Community Safety at Georgetown Law, says the center first became interested in learning more about Fulton County’s incarceration trends following the decarceration success at the Atlanta City Detention Center (ACDC).

On Monday’s edition of “Closer Look,” Dukett talked with show host Rose Scott about a new study released by the Center for Innovations in Community Safety at Georgetown Law titled “Reducing Jail Overcrowding Without Increasing Crime: Lessons from Fulton County, Georgia.”

According to the study, Fulton County jails people at a higher rate than other urban counties, driving the county’s overcrowding crisis.

“Every time you put somebody in jail, you increase rather than decrease the chances of that person, later on engaging in criminal activity, explained Duckett.

During the conversation, Duckett also talked about the importance of providing inmates with adequate resources to combat crime and reduce incarceration.