Credit: AJC file
Credit: AJC file
Gang members and other violent inmates in the Georgia prison system can get away with sexual assaults, murders and other acts of violence in large part because there are few officers to keep watch, the DOJ reported after a three-year investigation. The DOJ urged Georgia to quickly get its prisons fully staffed. But its investigative report identified numerous other steps that could allow the Georgia Department of Corrections to take back control of its prisons. Here are seven key measures from the federal investigation:
- Fix all the locks. Even in segregation units, dangerous prisoners can pop the locks and leave their cells at all hours. The GDC told federal investigators that lock upgrades are underway, but DOJ said the projects aren’t enough.
- Repair and replace security surveillance cameras and monitor them. Many housing units lack the cameras, making it easier for dangerous prisoners to prey on other inmates. Even when there is video footage, surveillance video is not monitored, DOJ reported.
- Get accurate prisoner counts. Security staff fail to verify the identity of each prisoner counted or to check if that person is living in their assigned cell. The widespread failure to conduct accurate counts can allow gangs to dictate where other prisoners can live and prevent officers from locating and tracking prisoners.
- Segregate violent prisoners from others, and don’t put rival gang members in the same cell. The GDC needs to update the security-level scores assigned to each prisoner based on new information about gangs, serious incidents and disciplinary reports. It also should identify prisoners who are likely to be victimized, such as gay and transgender people, and house them separate, so sexual violence doesn’t go unchecked.
- Document incidents of violence. DOJ found numerous instances in multiple prisons in which incident reports on assaults or fights were not reported or were misclassified. That prevents the GDC from fully accounting for levels of violence
- Report homicides accurately both internally and externally. The GDC lists even some obvious homicides as having unknown causes of death. It sticks with that even years after an autopsy finds a death to be a homicide. Georgia cannot confront and address the serious violence in its prisons if it does not accurately track and account for deaths.
- Adequately investigate violent incidents. According to the GDC’s records, less than a quarter of inmate-on-inmate assaults were forwarded for investigation. Even when assaults are forwarded, the DOJ found that interview questions were biased and investigators failed to identify and interview potential witnesses. Investigations of sexual violence allegations are particularly poor, with the investigation process dissuading victims from coming forward, DOJ found.
