A new report says Fulton County should seek private funding for social services and find alternatives to jailing criminals to reduce the hundreds of millions of dollars taxpayers spend each year on criminal justice.
The county’s Smart Justice Advisory Council Tuesday released its findings after spending a year looking for ways Fulton can save money on its jail, courts and other costs of handling crime. Though the impact would be modest at first, participants hope their recommendations will improve public safety, reduce the number of criminals who re-offend and save taxpayers money by reducing the number of inmates at the county jail.
“We’ve got a system that’s just running over with people who shouldn’t be in jail,” said Palemetto Mayor Boddie Clark, one of the task force members.
Among the group’s recommendations:
- An online database of counseling and other services that prosecutors, judges, families and others can use to get criminals help that could prevent them from re-offending.
- Private funding of social services to reduce crime. The task forces cited a fledgling New York City program that allows the government to issue bonds to pay for programs and repays the debt with money saved by reducing jail costs.
- Pre-arrest diversionary programs. Under such programs, police would refer some offenders to community supervision and social services instead of arresting them. Seattle, Memphis, Birmingham and Knoxville have launched similar programs.
- "Restorative justice programs," in which offenders attempt to rectify the problems they have caused their victims. Such programs provide an alternative to incarceration for some offenders, freeing up courts and jail space for hardened criminals.
Fulton County has budgeted about $244 million this year on its jail, courts, the district attorney’s office and the rest of its criminal justice system. That’s nearly 40 percent of its general fund, which also pays for other countywide services like libraries, elections and social services.
County Commission Chairman John Eaves said he did not know how much money could be saved by implementing the recommendations. But he said it costs about $26,000 a year to house a jail inmate, and he expects savings to come from reducing the number of inmates. Eaves said about 40,000 offenders are jailed each year in Fulton County.
Eaves appointed the task force last year amid concerns the rising cost of criminal justice was consuming resources that could be spent elsewhere. The task force includes judges, jailers, attorneys, educators and others with a stake in the issue.
Eaves will ask fellow commissioners to establish a permanent smart justice coordinating committee in the next few weeks. The group would oversee Fulton’s efforts to explore the task force’s recommendations and coordinate among the various agencies involved.
Eaves said work on the recommendations would begin in earnest in 2015.
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