Facility
RIVERBEND CORRECTIONAL AND REHABILITATION FACILITY
GPS facility profile for RIVERBEND CORRECTIONAL AND REHABILITATION FACILITY. Population: 1,515. 10 deaths tracked.
Key Facts
3
Riverbend correctional officers convicted and sentenced to 10 years in prison for smuggling contraband to inmates (October 2024)
8+ months
Duration of staff-run contraband smuggling scheme at Riverbend before discovery in November 2018
$50M
GDC spending on Managed Access phone suppression systems statewide — including at Riverbend — since 2024
1,771
Total deaths in GDC custody tracked by GPS since 2020, across all facilities system-wide
71
Deaths tracked by GPS across GDC in Q1 2026 alone, including 24 confirmed homicides
2,389
Inmates backlogged in local jails awaiting GDC placement as of April 3, 2026 — indicating systemic overcrowding pressure on all facilities
By the Numbers
52,804
Total GDC Population
1,779
Total Deaths Tracked by GPS
1,261
Poorly Controlled Health Conditions
13,003
Close Security (24.30%)
4,789
Drug Offenders (8.97%)
17
Lawsuits Tracked
Facility Overview
RIVERBEND CORRECTIONAL AND REHABILITATION FACILITY is located in Milledgeville, Baldwin County. The facility is currently led by Warden Angela Phams.
Population and Capacity
Current population: 1,515. Rated capacity: 1,588 (95.4% of capacity).
Original design capacity: 1,500. Current population is 101.0% of original design capacity. This facility is operating 1.0% over its original design capacity.
Deaths in Custody
GPS has tracked 10 deaths at this facility.
GPS Monitoring
GPS tracks this facility through weekly population reports, mortality records, and public records monitoring. Intelligence will be expanded as additional reporting and source material becomes available.
Timeline
April 1, 2026
Bloods gang war with multiple life flights incident
January 11, 2026
Gang war at Washington State Prison following phone network blackout incident
January 6, 2026
Georgia Department of Corrections statewide cell phone blackout via Managed Access System policy change
$50,000,000
October 27, 2025
Classification drift documented in Georgia prisons: Medium security facilities housing close security inmates without adequate staffing and infrastructure report
October 27, 2025
Classification drift documented in Georgia prisons — medium-security facilities housing high numbers of close-security inmates without adequate staffing and infrastructure report
October 27, 2025
Classification drift documented in Georgia prisons — medium security facilities operating as close security without adequate staffing and infrastructure report
October 27, 2025
Classification Drift documented: Medium Security prisons housing Close Security inmates without adequate staffing and infrastructure report
Source Articles
The Crackdown That's Killing: Georgia's $50M Phone War Fuels Record Prison Violence
Georgia Prison Security Levels