GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga — Inmates considered low-risk and indigent may be eligible for an early release from the Gwinnett County Jail as part of a new program to proactively address overcrowding, according to Sheriff Keybo Taylor.
The Gwinnett Pretrial Solution allows new inmates considered low-risk by a judge and Sherriff’s Office administrator to be released with conditions before a trial.
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“If they fit the criteria for this program,” said Taylor, “then we can put the ankle monitor down on them, and they can go into a different facility, maybe a rehab facility to where they can get better care.”
Taylor says he campaigned to come up with different solutions for low-income and mentally ill inmates before voters elected him in 2020.
He says inmates accused of violent crimes will not be part of the program.
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“This is not a program where we’re just opening up the jail to let people out,” he said.
Right now, anyone arrested for a nonviolent crime who can’t afford an attorney or bail may have to stay in jail until a trial. Taylor says the GPS program makes room for people accused of the most serious crimes.
“We’re not at a point now where we’re talking about being overcrowded,” he said. “What we are doing is addressing this before we have those type of issues.”
The GPS program could go into effect by next week and is happening at no cost to taxpayers, according to Taylor.
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