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Fulton County Sheriff Patrick Labat says conditions inside the Rice Street Jail are “beyond an emergency” and that county leaders have ignored his repeated warnings about the need for more staff and resources.
“For years, I’ve said Fulton County is in an emergency situation,” Labat said. “You can continue to be deliberately indifferent about what we need and try and block what we need, but ultimately lives are in our hands.”
The sheriff said staff retention remains one of the jail’s biggest problems. He said nearly 300 employees have left this year, most for jobs with other agencies.
Labat said the problems at the jail reflect a larger breakdown across the criminal justice system. “There is a criminal justice failure,” he said. “The judges need more resources. The DA’s office needs more resources. The public defender’s office needs more resources, and we need people to lean into that.”
Despite the challenges, Labat said there are signs of progress, pointing to cooperation with a federal monitor overseeing reforms under a consent decree. He added that one bright spot has been the injured deputy’s return to work.
“He’s back, even in this dangerous environment,” Labat said. “That’s the kind of dedication I’ve seen from the men and women of the sheriff’s office.”
The sheriff said the county has “put a Band-Aid on what amounts to open-heart surgery” for too long.
A federal monitor and her team spent last week on the ground implementing action items on the court-issued consent decree.
“We are making amazing progress. I believe when the new monitor report comes out. We are in a space of working collaboratively with the monitor and there’s been market improvement. These are decade-long issues. Keep in mind, there have only been 67 consent decrees in terms of jails. In the history of the United States, we own three of them,” he said.
The sheriff admits 66 inmates are now sleeping on the floor of the Rice Street jail, but he says even that is an improvement.
“Keep in mind, when we took office there were 3,600 individuals incarcerated, 600 on the floor and today, 66 is really a function of the fact that we have 545 beds out of order. We do not own the building. That’s a fact. It is maintenance that is the county’s responsibility and, as such, we had some zones out of order for almost a year and a half. That is not acceptable.”
