Understanding the Data
The table below shows the inmate population at each facility of the Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC) as of October 27, 2025. It breaks down the number of people assigned to each security level (Minimum, Medium, Close, etc.) for each prison—making it clear how many individuals are formally classified at each level and where they are actually housed.
This matters because many facilities labeled “Medium Security” are housing large numbers of Close Security inmates—creating what’s known as classification drift, where a prison operates as a higher-security facility than its designation without the staffing, infrastructure, or oversight those conditions require.
| Facility | Security Level | Minimum | Medium | Close | Facility Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HANCOCK STATE PRISON | Close Security | 56 | 254 | 885 | 1195 |
| HAYS STATE PRISON | Close Security | 5 | 85 | 1009 | 1099 |
| MACON STATE PRISON | Close Security | 3 | 188 | 1582 | 1773 |
| SMITH STATE PRISON | Close Security | 5 | 118 | 1002 | 1125 |
| TELFAIR STATE PRISON | Close Security | 4 | 106 | 1163 | 1273 |
| VALDOSTA STATE PRISON | Close Security | 24 | 247 | 866 | 1137 |
| WARE STATE PRISON | Close Security | 54 | 363 | 1035 | 1452 |
| AUGUSTA STATE MED. PRISON | Close Security – Special Mission | 48 | 597 | 531 | 1176 |
| BALDWIN STATE PRISON | Close Security – Special Mission | 28 | 515 | 230 | 773 |
| GA DIAG CLASS PRISON | Close Security – Special Mission | 683 | 1260 | 449 | 2396 |
| SPECIAL MANAGEMENT UNIT | Close Security Unit (GDCP) | 0 | 0 | 149 | 149 |
| LONG UNIT | Close Security Unit (Smith SP) | 63 | 168 | 0 | 231 |
| AUTRY STATE PRISON | Medium Security | 66 | 391 | 9 | 466 |
| CALHOUN STATE PRISON | Medium Security | 30 | 1140 | 487 | 1657 |
| CENTRAL STATE PRISON | Medium Security | 60 | 1059 | 33 | 1152 |
| DOOLY STATE PRISON | Medium Security | 23 | 1112 | 455 | 1590 |
| JOHNSON STATE PRISON | Medium Security | 149 | 1261 | 163 | 1573 |
| LEE STATE PRISON | Medium Security | 72 | 667 | 5 | 744 |
| MONTGOMERY STATE PRISON | Medium Security | 163 | 252 | 0 | 415 |
| ROGERS STATE PRISON | Medium Security | 432 | 1004 | 1 | 1437 |
| RUTLEDGE STATE PRISON | Medium Security | 39 | 545 | 3 | 587 |
| WALKER STATE PRISON | Medium Security | 83 | 362 | 0 | 445 |
| WASHINGTON STATE PRISON | Medium Security | 62 | 1031 | 418 | 1511 |
| WILCOX STATE PRISON | Medium Security | 30 | 1260 | 545 | 1835 |
| BURRUSS CORRECTIONAL TRAINING CTR | Medium Security – Special Mission | 216 | 534 | 0 | 750 |
| PHILLIPS STATE PRISON | Medium Security – Special Mission | 21 | 468 | 274 | 763 |
| JENKINS CORR FACILITY | Private Contract – Medium Security | 77 | 1080 | 3 | 1160 |
| RIVERBEND CORR FACILITY | Private Contract – Medium Security | 198 | 1293 | 3 | 1494 |
| WHEELER CORR FACILITY | Private Contract – Medium Security | 197 | 2579 | 5 | 2781 |
| COFFEE CORR FACILITY | Private Contract – Medium Security | 161 | 2546 | 2 | 2709 |
| METRO REINVESTMENT CENTER | Transitional/Reentry Facility | 131 | 291 | 35 | 457 |
| ARRENDALE STATE PRISON | Women’s Facility | 331 | 483 | 59 | 873 |
| MCRAE WOMEN’S FACILITY | Women’s Facility | 317 | 296 | 47 | 660 |
| PULASKI STATE PRISON | Women’s Facility | 313 | 779 | 85 | 1177 |
| WHITWORTH WOMEN’S FACILITY | Women’s Facility – Medium Security | 267 | 176 | 0 | 443 |
This pattern of classification drift has been documented in detail by Georgia Prisoners’ Speak in The Classification Crisis: How Four Medium Security Prisons Are Killing People, which shows that several medium-security prisons—including Dooly State Prison—are operating with dangerous overcrowding and close-security populations far above intended limits.
These findings align with the U.S. Department of Justice’s 2024 findings report, which concluded that Georgia’s prisons are plagued by “near-constant life-threatening violence” due to chronic understaffing, misclassification, and the state’s failure to protect incarcerated people from known dangers.
Together, the data and the reports expose a simple truth: when classification breaks down, control breaks down.
Understanding how the system fails on paper helps explain why it fails in practice—and why reform is not just overdue, but essential.
🔗 For Further Reading
- The Classification Crisis: How Four Medium Security Prisons Are Killing People
- Lethal Negligence: The Hidden Death Toll in Georgia’s Prisons
- A Simple Message for the GDC
- Fixing Georgia’s Parole System: The Ultimate Plan for Justice
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