COVID-19 in Georgia’s Correctional System

Last Updated January 9, 2021

• The COVID-19 pandemic began to be recognized in Georgia in early March 2020.
• Although there have been official changes to governmental and business operations, most public restrictions are now lifted throughout the state, despite us being at a record high levels of infection.
• Jail populations began to rise again in July 2020

Our look at data begins in January 2020, two months before any response activities began, so that we can compare the pre-COVID data to present-day figures and identify changes over time.

We will use this page for the following:

1. Posting incarcerated population data for state and county facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic in Georgia.
2. Sharing recommendations for state and local agencies to protect individuals in state or local custody and reduce justice encounters.
3. Sharing information about any known harm reduction or advocacy efforts.

Key Figures

Pre-COVID (start of 2020) Statewide Baselines:

• 55,000 in state correctional facilities on average
• 37,000 in county facilities on average
• 236,000 unique admissions per year to county jails in Georgia

Changes during COVID

Changes from Pre-COVID to Present

• Georgia’s state correctional facility population is 14.12% lower (January 2020 to January 2021)
• Georgia’s county jail system population have started to rise again, now only 17% lower than before COVID (July data)

July to August

• Another decline of 1.5% in state correctional population from July to August

June to July

• Decline of 1.5% in state correctional population from June to July
• Increase of 3.92% in county correctional population from June to July

May to June

• 3.1% decline in state correctional populations from May to June
• Only a 0.7% decline in county correctional population from May to June

April to May

• 2.5% decline in state correctional populations from April to May
• 8.3% decline in county average populations from April to May

March to April

• 20% decline in county average populations from March to April
  • Largest 11 county jails, representing 45% of the state’s county jail population, declined 16.5% as a group
  • Only 3 of largest 11 county jails experienced a decline above state average, 20%
  • DeKalb the only jail among largest 11 to show growth (3%)

State Incarcerated Populations during COVID-19

Individuals being detained or incarcerated in correctional facilities are at a disproportionately high risk of exposure to and infection from COVID-19. Individuals

This is a result of limited access to personal sanitation and hygiene products, limited personal protective equipment, overcrowding, and physical environments which often make physical distancing unlikely.

State Correctional Facilities Population (January 2020-January 2021)

Georgia’s prison population is 14.12% lower than before the pandemic began. The gradual decline of nearly 8,000 individuals in the state’s prison population is illustrated on the graph below.

As of July, the Georgia Department of Corrections had not engaged in early release efforts and had not altered release dates to release anyone early. GDOC halted new intakes into state facilities in March which meant individuals were held at the county jails while waiting to enter the prison system. Intake resumed in May.

Compared to other states in July, Georgia had seen the 14th largest decline, based on data gathered by Prison Policy Initiative. More recent national data is not available.

Local Jails Represent Greatest Risk

While jails would appear to represent a smaller impacted population than state prisons, average population counts do not properly reflect the much larger number of 236,000 unique admissions that occur annually into Georgia’s county jails. 

While the average Georgia prison sentence is 25 years, the average length of stay in jail comes closer to two weeks. Each admission is an opportunity for exposure and spread into and out of the facility and into vulnerable communities.

There is much greater potential at the county level to reduce the impacted population, the number of admissions, and the overall risks of exposure and spread. We’ll review that further down.

Georgia County Jail Populations

County jails represent a more complicated situation, due to the sheer size of Georgia’s correctional system. We have 143 county jails across 159 counties, administered by locally elected Sheriffs.

We focus on looking at data starting in January 2020 to identify any changes taking place.

Background on data source:

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation gathers county jail population data from the state’s 159 County Sheriff agencies on a monthly basis and reports it to the Georgia Department of Community Affairs for publication. There are over 500 cities in Georgia, plenty of which have their own police department and jail, the data for which is much more difficult to gather, so we are focusing on the data that we have readily available.

County Jail Statewide Population (January to July 2020)

Since the COVID-19 crisis began, Georgia’s average county jail population had been in decline until July when numbers began to tick back up. The percentage of people in jails awaiting trial has consistently gone up throughout the pandemic.

– Reform Georgia

While some perceive the threat as having passed, cases are rising in Georgia and COVID-19 is still thriving in correctional facilities, impacting both the individuals housed at the facility and the correctional staff who leave and go back out into the community. Safety measures and efforts to reduce population counts and encounters with law enforcement need to continue to protect vulnerable individuals and our communities.

Largest 11 County Jails by Population
(Jan/Feb 2020 to January 2021)

These 11 county jails have the largest average jail populations, representing approximately 44% of the state’s jail population.

• *DeKalb’s numbers dropped significantly from November to December, which has happened once previously this year before bouncing back, so we expect this is a similar occurrence.
• **Fulton appears to have failed to report data in December and reported zero, which we do not believe to be accurate, so we’ve used November data until seeing next month.

Racial Disparities in COVID Death Rates

Below is a table of COVID-19 reported deaths, as gathered and reported by the Georgia Department of Public Health, alongside the percentage of total deaths for each race category. Because the actual population sizes for each race vary, further below is a table of deaths per 100,000 to compare the relative impact. As evidenced by the numbers, the vast majority of deaths reported are among Black and White Georgians.

Reported separately was also 304 deaths among Georgians identifying as “Hispanic/Latino”. This represents a rate of 29 deaths per 100,000.

These different rates per 100,000 reveal that Black Georgians are 60% more likely than White Georgians to die of COVID-19. Also of note is that the rate of deaths for Georgians identifying as Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders is even higher.

Recommendations to Protect Individuals in Georgia’s State and Local Criminal Justice System

Reform Georgia has issued a letter of recommendations to protect individuals in the criminal justice system and to reduce encounters with law enforcement and the correctional system.

Read Reform Georgia’s letter of recommendations to state and local officials.

The Georgia Justice Reform Partnership has issued a letter of recommendation to address COVID-19 in Georgia prisons addressed to the Georgia Department of Corrections and and Board of Pardons and Paroles. Reform Georgia is a member of the GJRP and we endorse this letter.

We also endorse this letter from the Georgia Justice Project with recommendations for temporary accommodations to state and local probationary policies to address the impacts of COVID-19.

Response Efforts Around Georgia

Federal Lawsuit Filed Against Clayton County Sheriff over COVID Complaints

COVID-19 Information from Georgia Department of Corrections

Tours and Visitation Restriction:

• All prison tours are suspended until further notice.
• All volunteer visits are suspended as of March 12, 2020 until further notice.
• All visitation is suspended through July 12, 2020 in keeping with the Governor’s Public Health Emergency declaration.  The suspension will be reevaluated on a weekly basis following July 12.  The following measures remain in place to accommodate the inmate population during the suspension: 
  • GDC has partnered with Securus Technologies and JPay to provide each offender with one FREE fifteen (15) minute call each week starting Saturday, March 14, 2020 and 2 FREE stamps each week starting Tuesday, March 17, 2020. The one free call and 2 free stamps per week will continue until further notice as we maintain safety efforts for our offenders, staff and visitors.
• Medical CoPay waived related flu and COVID-19 Symptoms
• The GDC has suspended attorney visits through July 14, 2020. We will continue to accommodate non-contact attorney visits with offenders if there are emergency situations.