FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — The first court monitor report on the Fulton Count Jail, located on Rice Street, was published Thursday.
The report was created as part of the consent agreement between the Fulton County Government, Sheriff’s Office and others with the U.S. Department of Justice regarding the conditions and civil rights violations happening at the Rice Street facility.
The report by Lead Monitor Kathleen Kenney details the monitoring team’s impressions of the jail and includes recommendations for the various governmental bodies to focus on from now to roughly March.
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According to the report filed on Aug. 21, the jail has a staffing crisis.
The report says staffing shortages have been a problem for decades, even being the subject of a lawsuit in 2005 against then-sheriff Myron Freeman over conditions and staffing at the jail.
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While the lawsuit led to an order that at least three uniformed officers supervise the jail population on each housing floor, the order is not currently being followed.
During the monitor team’s tour of the Fulton County Jail, “most floors in the main jail were staffed with only one deputy or detention officer. This lone deputy was responsible for approximately 200 residents who were housed in six separate housing zones.”
Staffing was the single largest issue found during the monitoring team’s review of the Rice Street Jail.
The single biggest takeaway from the Monitoring Team’s visit was that FCSO Jail Operations is significantly understaffed, which creates serious safety risks for residents and staff and will obstruct compliance with virtually every provision of the Consent Decree.
— Fulton County Jail Monitor Report, Aug. 21, 2025
Additionally, security towers at the jail, which are enclosed and elevated areas on the housing floors of the main jail, “are often left vacant, thereby further exacerbating safety risks” for both the jail’s population and its staff.
A review of staffing patterns of the jail showed an average vacancy for personnel of 50% at the main jail, 55% at annex facilities and 68% at support and operations services during the day shift, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Those numbers were higher when it came to the seven-day average for night shift, from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m.
Night shift staffing levels were 58% vacant at the main jail, 59% at annex facilities and 71% for support and operations.
However, "due to inconsistencies in the rosters and reporting methods, the Monitoring Team believes the actual vacancy rate may be higher than reported" in the data monitors reviewed.
Kenney’s report says the main areas for the county and sheriff’s office to focus on over the next six months include:
- Protection from Harm - Classification and Housing
- Protection from Harm - Staffing and Supervision
- Environmental Health and Nutrition - Physical Plant
- Medical and Mental Health Care - Suicide Prevention
Channel 2 Action News has reached out to the sheriff’s office for comment on how they plan to address this issue and a more broad response to the report’s findings.
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