Corrections

The Department of Corrections operates the 800-bed Comprehensive Correctional Complex located at 750 Hi-Hope Road in Lawrenceville. The complex contains 512 beds for sentenced county and state inmates and 288 beds for offenders sentenced to the Work Release Program. The department also administers the Work Alternative Program, which allows offenders to perform community service as an alternative to incarceration.

The Department of Corrections is comprised of two divisions, Security and Support Services. Officers assigned to the Security Division are responsible for the security of the facility and all offenders, and for supervising inmate work crews. Employees in the Support Services Division perform duties related to inmate care and treatment, food services, maintenance, and fiscal management. Employees in both divisions ensure the success of four major departmental programs:

Corrections/Incarceration Labor Program
The department applies modern correctional management techniques to protect the public and provide a secure, safe, and humane environment for minimum and medium security inmates. Under an agreement with the Georgia Department of Corrections, 128 of the department's 512 inmate beds are reserved for state inmates while the remaining beds are filled by county inmates sentenced directly by Gwinnett County judges. In exchange for housing inmates for the Georgia Department of Corrections, Gwinnett County receives $20 per diem for each inmate housed. To further offset the costs of housing prisoners, inmates serving time in the facility provide a labor force to Gwinnett County that performs janitorial, landscaping, maintenance, and other services at many county-owned facilities.

Work Release Program
The Work Release Program provides a cost-effective, semi-incarceration sentencing alternative that allows defendants, called residents, to maintain regular employment while serving their non-working time in custody. Residents are required to pay administrative and daily fees to offset the costs of the program in addition to any court-ordered child support payments, fines, and probation fees.

Work Alternative Program
The Work Alternative Program allows first-offenders to perform community service work in lieu of serving time. Offenders sentenced to the program are not incarcerated but report to the department on a daily basis as ordered by the sentencing court. Participants are supervised as they remove litter from roadsides and perform other non-skilled work for other County departments, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations. The program is funded through administrative and daily fees paid by the offenders.

Inmate Job Training Program
Since 1997, Gwinnett County has partnered with the Atlanta Regional Commission to operate a vocational training program for inmates. This grant-funded program is recognized by the Georgia Department of Labor and has a record of success in reducing recidivism. Most of the inmates who participated in this program were gainfully employed during the 12-month period following their release from prison.  Additionally, GED instruction and testing are provided on-site.

2010 Authorized Strength: 139

Operating Budget: 2010 Budget Appropriations
General Fund: $ 12,720,997
Inmate Welfare: $ 149,258

Support Initiatives to Improve Community Appearance: The department uses offender labor to paint over graffiti vandalism on public and private property throughout Gwinnett County and to pick up litter along County roads. Upon receiving a request to cover graffiti, an inmate crew responds within two business days, because studies indicate that quick removal deters future vandalism. In 2009 the department responded to 131 graffiti sites and painted more than 49,000 square feet of surface area. In addition, offenders picked up litter along 5,000 miles of roadway.

Enhance Operational Effectiveness: In 2009 the department became the first county correctional facility in Georgia to earn national accreditation through the American Correctional Association. In order to become accredited, an agency must comply with 100 percent of applicable mandatory standards and at least 90 percent of non-mandatory standards. The American Correctional Association audited the department over a three-day period and found compliance with all 60 mandatory standards and 412 of 419 (98.3 percent) of non-mandatory standards. The accreditation period is three years, during which time the department must maintain the level of standards compliance achieved during the initial accreditation and work towards achieving a higher level of standards compliance for reaccreditation.

Provide Offender Labor: The department uses convicted offenders to provide Gwinnett County with a supplemental labor force. Inmates clean and landscape County parks, provide janitorial and landscaping services at the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center, and remove litter from roadsides. In addition, several municipalities and Community Improvement Districts within the county hire inmate labor crews at an established daily rate. The department strives to maximize this resource but since inmate workers must be supervised, this objective requires full staffing and a low employee turnover rate.

Offset Operating Costs: The department seeks to offset at least 60 percent of its operating budget through revenues, grants, reimbursements, and the value of offender labor. The offset for 2009 was only 39 percent due to revenue reductions, staffing shortages, and the inability to work all available inmates.

On July 21, 2009, the Board of Commissioners approved a budget resolution that, among other things, directed staff to close the Comprehensive Correctional Complex as soon as practical but not later than July 1, 2011. Twenty-five percent of the department's employees left during the 12-month period following the July budget resolution, including one-half of the department's senior managers.

The board reversed this decision on December 15, 2009, when it approved a superseding resolution to maintain Corrections as a County department pending further analysis of departmental operations and services. In the meantime, however, staff had already taken several steps to effectuate the board's directive to close the facility. As a result of employee attrition, 18 of 25 authorized inmate work crews were idle at the end of 2009. In addition, the GED program for inmates was suspended when the part-time teacher was included in a reduction in force.

In accordance with the BOC resolution to further analyze the department's value to Gwinnett County, the County Administrator established a project team in February 2010. Team members were directed to evaluate whether or not Gwinnett County should operate a correctional facility, and to develop current and future business plans accordingly. The project team's recommendations are due in October 2010.