Corrections Commissioner: Reform Is Working | Georgia Public Broadcasting

ATLANTA — It’s been just under a year since a massive overhaul to Georgia’s criminal justice system took effect. The state Corrections Commissioner says jails are less crowded, but the prison population is getting more violent.

It’s been just under a year since a massive overhaul to Georgia’s criminal justice system took effect. The state Corrections Commissioner says jails are less crowded, but the prison population is getting more violent.

New criminal justice laws have reduced prison terms and provided alternatives to incarceration for non-violent offenders. Jail capacity in the state is 47,086 beds. Currently there are more than 11,000 empty jail beds in Georgia.

State corrections officials say in 2010 there were a thousand offenders waiting in jail to get into a half-way house. That backlog has been zeroed because fewer people are coming through the system.

That saves counties just under $11 million a year.

via Corrections Commissioner: Reform Is Working.