Georgia– Channel 2 Action News has learned of a sweeping plan to find out what works and what doesn’t in Georgia’s prison system.
The success of this plan could affect the lives of Georgians both inside and outside of prison.
Channel 2 Action News has an exclusive interview with Georgia’s corrections commissioner, who says this is important for the safety of all Georgians, the safety of people who work in prisons and the safety of inmates.
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He says he’s been in criminal justice for a quarter century and has never seen as deep and broad a look at what works and what needs improvement in our prisons as he anticipates he will.
“This evaluation is crucial,” said Georgia Department of Corrections Commissioner Tyrone Oliver. Channel 2’s Mark Winne. “This will be the roadmap for the future.”
Oliver said Channel 2 Action News who was speaking via Zoom from Smith State Prison in Glennville, where he was on site to personally oversee the investigation of a crisis: an inmate who had somehow obtained a gun inside the prison with which he murdered a worker hired from food service. he then committed suicide.
“It was a personal relationship that was established between the food service worker and the inmate,” Oliver said.
But he says that for months before this, he and Governor Brian Kemp had been working on a plan to improve all of Georgia’s prisons in the future with a comprehensive, independent and in-depth evaluation of what is working and what needs to be improved in a future. The prison system houses nearly 50,000 inmates, approximately 75% of them violent criminals.
“This assessment is a naturally progressive step the governor is taking to improve security in Georgia. He has cracked down on gangs on the street, he has cracked down on criminal activity on the street. “Now we have to address and crack down on the problems inside Georgia prisons to keep Georgians safe too,” Oliver said.
Oliver says the state has hired three carefully selected firms: Guidehouse, Incorporated, The Moss Group, which has worked with correctional departments in all 50 states, and CGL Companies.
Oliver says nothing will be off limits: “They’re going to look at gangs, smuggling, technology that we’re using or technology that exists to help us combat all of those things, whether it’s smuggling or to supplement staffing.”
Oliver says the study will also look at policies, procedures, offender programs, staff recruitment and retention, which has been an ongoing issue, infrastructure, which will be key, and much more. From this process should emerge a roadmap that can guide how Georgia’s prisons will be managed in the years to come.
“Do you anticipate the governor’s office will take these action items to the legislature, for example, if budget changes are needed? -Winne asked.
“Absolutely. That’s a big part of this. We’re going to need all the parties involved in that, from the governor’s office, to have their support and from the General Assembly,” Oliver responded.
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The commissioner says the profile of Georgia prisoners has changed dramatically in the last decade with a steady increase in the violent population and gang presence in prisons.
He says the average sentence length for those currently serving time is about 32 years.
So a long-term plan is needed, and that was critical in the conversations he had with Kemp as they worked on this initiative for months.
An aide to the governor estimates the price tag for the evaluation will be between $2 million and $3 million.
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