Fulton sheriff calls jail renovation plan ‘shortsighted’

Fulton County Sheriff Patrick Labat on Friday called plans to renovate the Fulton County Jail rather than building a new, $1.7 billion facility “shortsighted,” and said he thinks a Justice Department probe will recommend a new facility.

Labat called the press conference two days after a majority of the Fulton County Commission voted to issue an request for proposal to study a $300 million renovation of the existing jail, instead of building a new facility.

“This project is really putting a band aid on open heart surgery,” Labat said.

Labat said the county, which is responsible for the jail maintenance, will likely end up paying up to $2 billion over the next 10 years to continuously refurbish the facility. Since May 2023, Labat said there have been 15,000 work orders just for the building alone.

“The building, the infrastructure itself, is out of date,” he said. “The materials that were used, are no longer used, in building a facility of this magnitude.”

In a statement, commissioner Bob Ellis argued renovating “will result in a safer jail faster than rebuilding, at a far lower cost.” Ellis also said the plan balances “the safety and security of our detainees and staff with the financial needs of Fulton County Taxpayers.”

“By comparison, analysis showed that a $1.7 billion Jail would be among the most expensive Jails in the nation, requiring a 25% tax hike, taking years to build. It would be irresponsible to continue wasting time studying an approach that is so out of balance with the needs of our community,” Ellis said in a statement.

The Department of Justice is currently conducting a civil rights investigation of conditions at the jail . Labat said a DOJ report stating that a new facility is needed would leave commissioners with no other choice.

“When I say it’s shortsighted, when you peel back the onion, we are going to have to build a new facility regardless, Labat said. “I am afraid that politics have gotten in the way. To that extent, the Department of Justice will have their own say when it’s time for that report to come out.”

Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC

Labat said the renovation plan would require the sheriff’s office to outsource more detainees, a process that is already in place due to overcrowding at the Rice Street jail. He feels commissioners have not considered other factors, including population growth of the county and a resulting rise in the number of arrests.

Labat said they are continuously working with justice partners, including the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office, to reduce overcrowding but problems still persist, even though he said they’ve reduce the jail population to about 2,400, from 3,700 detainees when he first took office. The jail’s capacity is 2,254 inmates.

He said conditions at the jail are still dangerous with at least 10 stabbings since June 1. In that same time, jailers have confiscated about 75 shanks made from building materials. This week, Labat said there was a drone drop into the facility with cellphones and cigarettes.

“It’s just a matter of time until someone gets a more dangerous weapon in here,” Labat said.

Credit: Ben Hendren

There have been three in-custody deaths this year , compared to 10 in 2023 and 14 in 2022. Labat said a new facility is needed to prevent more deaths at the jail.

“If we don’t move toward the future with respect to, not just with how we treat people but the increase in technology and a forward thinking process, people are going to continue to die,” he said.

Some critics have said a new hospital is needed more than a new jail, but Labat said the aren’t mutually exclusive.

“If we do not build a replacement (jail), a hospital will be needed to continue to move people from here to there,” he said.

Get all the news about the Atlanta Braves delivered each morning. Sign up for Braves Report.