For Immediate Release: November 15, 2023
Contact: media@colorofchange.org 

In Atlanta, Color Of Change Applauds a Significant Reduction in the County’s Jail Population, and Discourages the Use of Electronic Monitoring 

On November 15th, The Fulton County Board of Commissioners released updated county jail population data, which revealed a significant jail population reduction of 443 individuals, as compared to the last update. For context, the jail population on September 4th was 3,618 people, and it is now 2,912 people – a drop of almost 20% in 2 months. In response to this new data, Color Of Change released the following statement from Michael Collins, Senior Director of State and Local Government Affairs:

“For the duration of our involvement in the movement for criminal legal reform in Atlanta, we have consistently pointed to decarceration as the most practical systemic solution to the Fulton County Jail crisis. This reduction of over 700 incarcerated individuals in two months is a clear signal that stakeholders like District Attorney Fani Willis are taking steps in the right direction, alongside aid from the Public Defender. Still, Fulton County remains a national outlier in terms of unindicted cases and the gross inhumane treatment of incarcerated people. There is so much more work to be done, but this reduction proves that when we organize we can win.”

“In light of the reduction, Color Of Change recommends individuals be classified as Unsecured Judicial Releases (UJR), rather than using electronic monitoring (EM). EM has become an add-on for people already being released in the last few years in Fulton County. The fact that one tainted company (Talitrix) has the contract for providing EM shows the desire of corporations to profit from Black bodies. We know that these companies and officials do a terrible job of notifying people when cases are dropped, and we know of people who remained on EM for years after their case was dismissed. A recent study found that EM neither increased court appearances nor reduced new arrests. Importantly, electronic monitoring does not reduce jail populations. EM is not a cure-all solution to jail death – we can not trade physical incarceration for electronic incarceration.”

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