Georgia prisons are in crisis, say consultants hired by Gov. Kemp

Staffing vacancies for correctional officers at 20 of Georgia’s 34 prisons have reached “emergency levels,” making it impossible to keep up with even basic protocols such as routine counts of prisoners, according to consultants hired by Gov. Brian Kemp to evaluate the Department of Corrections.

At some prisons, gangs are “effectively running the facilities,” in part due to a lack of staff, using violence to maintain control, the consultants’ report says. The violence is enhanced by crumbling facilities where prisoners can strip off materials to make weapons and easily leave their cells because the locks don’t work and there’s not enough staff to monitor movements, the consultants found.