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Leaders push for Fulton County-Atlanta city jail deal
The Fulton County detention center is old, crumbling and dangerous, according to Fulton County Sheriff Patrick Labat. Labat has long pushed for a new jail. Now, he's pushing Atlanta City Council to approve an extended lease on a jail within city limits. Councilman Michael Julian Bond expects the city will renew the contract with the jail.
ATLANTA -
The Fulton County detention center is old, crumbling and dangerous, according to Fulton County Sheriff Patrick Labat, and he is sounding the alarm over what might happen if the city doesn't renew a lease with the county.
What they're saying:
Labat says it is imperative for Atlanta City Council to approve an extended lease on a jail within city limits.
The sheriff says ending the lease would lead to more violence and more inmates filling up the already overcrowded Fulton County Jail.
Labat on Monday told Atlanta City Council’s Public Safety Committee a deal to house inmates in the Atlanta city detention center, ACDC, is crucial to easing overcrowding at the Fulton County jail.
"ACDC is vital," Labat said.
The sheriff’s department currently leases space to house inmates at the city jail. That agreement is set to end late next year. Labat says terminating the deal would mean more overcrowding and violence at the already strained Fulton County facility.
"People will continue to die the more we cram people in these spaces," Labat said.
Councilman Michael Julian Bond, a member of the public safety committee, concurred. Bond expects the city will renew the contract with the jail.
"We owe it to our constituents to continue the lease," Bond said. "It’s the humane thing to do, it’s the right thing to do. I believe there’s support on the council to do so."
Labat’s warning comes as Fulton County’s Rice Street facility remains under an order from the U.S. Justice Department to improve conditions. A federal monitor last week issued a report. It states the jail "is significantly understaffed, which creates serious safety risks for residents and staff."
Even the sheriff said inmates are fashioning makeshift weapons from the jail’s crumbling infrastructure.
"It is a horrible, atrocious, worse than third-world situation at the Fulton County Jail," Bond said.
Bond believes the mayor’s office plans to renew the city contract with Fulton County. He urges county leaders to fund a new jail as the sheriff is asking.
What's next:
The lease on the city jail runs out next year. Leaders will have to decide what to with the lease before that time.
The Source: Information in this article came from FOX 5's Christopher King speaking with Councilman Michael Julian Bond and past FOX 5 reporting.