Atlanta

Atlanta jail to close after mayor's legislation is approved

As of Wednesday, the Atlanta City Detention Center was holding five detainees for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

ATLANTA — Atlanta's jail will be closing, after Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms' legislation to close the Atlanta City Detention Center (ACDC) passed City Council.

Last year, Mayor Bottoms called for the closing of ACDC, citing the declining number of inmates housed and the increase in costs to operate the center.

“No longer will Atlanta be in the jail business,” said Bottoms. “Today, we have taken another critical step forward in the march for criminal justice reform by beginning the work to repurpose our jail to serve the people of Atlanta as a Center for Equity. The process will be an inclusive one to ensure stakeholders and those most impacted by the criminal justice have a seat at the table.”

The resolution, sponsored by Atlanta City Councilmember Andre Dickens, establishes a task force to evaluate potential uses for the facility that could benefit Atlanta communities.

Task force participants will include, but are not limited to:
• Chief Operating Officer, or her designee
• Chief Equity Officer, Office of Equity, Diversion, and Inclusion, or his designee
• Chief Resiliency Officer, Office of Resilience, or his designee
• One representative from the City Council, appointed by the council president
• One representative from the Committee on Public Safety and Legal Administration, appointed by the chairman of that committee
• City Attorney, or her designee
• Chief Judge, Atlanta Municipal Court, or his/her designee
• Chief of the Atlanta Department of Corrections, or his designee
• Chief of the Atlanta Police Department, or her designee

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The resolution outlines a process in which Mayor Bottoms will publicly post a solicitation of nominations of additional individuals who would like to be considered to serve on the Task Force. 
The Mayor will select not more than 25 individuals representing the above-named sectors and may add representatives of city government whose input should be considered in the deliberations of the task force.

Cox Media Group

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