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, 254 of the department's 512 inmate beds are reserved for state inmates while the remaining 258 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 non-profit organizations. The program is funded through administrative and daily fees paid by the offenders.

Inmate Job Training Program
Since 1987 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 remarkable record of success in reducing recidivism. According to national statistics, 68 percent of all inmates in the U.S. reoffend within three years of their release from prison. However, 87 percent of program participants were employed upon their release with 70 percent still employed after five years. The program has received numerous awards and has been featured on Georgia Public Television.

2009 Authorized Strength: 142

Operating Budget: 2008 Budget Appropriations
General Fund: $ 12,720,997
Inmate Welfare: $ 145,575

Increase Support of Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful 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 from Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful to cover graffiti, an inmate crew responds within two business days because studies indicate that quick removal deters future vandalism. In 2008 the department responded to 368 graffiti sites and painted more than 95,000 square feet of surface area. In addition, offenders picked up litter along 5,600 miles of roadway.

Enhance Operational Effectiveness: For the past 18 months the department has been working to become the first county correctional facility in Georgia to earn national accreditation. Assessors from the American Correctional Association will audit the department over a three-day period in February 2009 with a final decision announced at the annual ACA Conference in August.

An efficiency study of the department was conducted in 2007 by Carter, Goble, Lee, and Associates, Inc. Between February 6, 2008, and September 30, 2008, a working group of County employees evaluated CCL recommendations for efficiency improvements in 11 different categories. With the exception of recommendations that require additional personnel and funding, all CGL recommendations deemed feasible and worthwhile by the working group have been implemented by the department.

Increase Offender Labor Hours: 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 Justice and Administration Center, remove litter from roadsides, and process recyclables at all recycling facilities operated by Gwinnett County Clean and Beautiful. In addition, several municipalities 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 2008 is projected to be only 52 percent due to reductions in revenue and the inability to work all available inmates.

The need for County inmate bed space in the Comprehensive Correctional Complex exceeded availability by more than 50 percent in 2008. If this situation continues, it may be necessary to modify the agreement to house state inmates for the Georgia Department of Corrections in order to convert state beds to county use. Any reduction in the number of state inmates housed, however, will produce a corresponding reduction in revenue.

Although offender labor saved taxpayers more than $3 million in 2008, there was a significant gap between potential and actual labor hours due to a 12 percent turnover rate for sworn staff. The time required to hire and train replacement officers caused some inmate work details to remain idle for extended periods.

Work Release was established as a user-financed program, but user fees currently offset only 60 percent of program costs. Revenue declined 15 percent in 2008, primarily due to the economic downturn. Revenue collections are also affected when local judges waive program fees and sentence unemployed defendants to the program.