No New Jail / Community Over Cages
In 2024, Sheriff Patrick Labat proposed a $2 billion expansion of the Fulton County Jail, arguing that adding more beds would address overcrowding, deaths in custody, and chronic staffing shortages
The Issue
Atlanta Doesn't Need a Bigger Jail
In 2024, Sheriff Patrick Labat proposed a $2 billion expansion of the Fulton County jail. His pitch was that more beds would solve overcrowding, deaths in custody, and staffing shortages.
The community had other ideas.
What the Analysis Showed
A Bigger Jail Would Not Solve the Problem
The ACLU’s analysis, commissioned by our Community Over Cages Coalition, showed something different: The proposal ignored renovation, decarceration, and falling crime rates as alternatives, and the “model jails” the feasibility study cited were themselves prime examples of the very problems a new building would not solve.
The Win
The Coalition stopped the expansion and Opened up the Center for Diversions & Services
The Center for Diversion & Services, a real alternative for people facing mental health and substance use crises opened at Atlanta City Detention Center. Our work continues because Fulton County needs decarceration, not more jail cells. It needs investment in people, not more concrete cages.
Path to 1,000
Building a Path to Less Incarceration in Fulton County
Women on the Rise is proud to be part of the Community Over Cages Coalition and the development of the Path to 1,000 Policy Report. The report outlines actionable recommendations to reduce incarceration in Fulton County by addressing the policies and practices that keep too many people in jail. It calls on local and state leaders, prosecutors, courts, and justice partners to advance meaningful reforms and build a safer, more just community.