City of Atlanta leases 700 beds to Fulton County Jail due to overcrowding

ATLANTA — Overcrowding at the Fulton County Jail continues to be an issue, so Atlanta city officials announced their intention to donate 700 beds to the jail.

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The four-year temporary lease of beds will come from the Atlanta City Detention Center to help combat overcrowding. Approval by both the Atlanta City Council and the Fulton County Board of Commissioners is expected in the coming weeks, officials said.

Mayor Andre Dickens also announced his intention to work with the city council to repurpose the detention center following the end of the lease agreement.

“As I have continually supported since my time on the Atlanta City Council, I remain committed to fully repurposing the ACDC facility for non-incarceration purposes,” Dickens said.

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“But we are also confronted by a real and immediate crisis of overcrowding at the Fulton County Jail. Many of these detainees are Atlanta residents, and our conscience calls us to act. This temporary lease agreement will allow the City of Atlanta to play a role in alleviating this humanitarian crisis and provide the time necessary for Fulton County to develop and implement a long-term solution.”

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The agreement will see the transfer of approximately 250 inmates from the Fulton County Jail annex in Union City and up to approximately 450 low- to medium-custody level detainees from other facilities, the city said.

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