Why Georgia Won’t Separate Gangs: 142 Homicides and Counting

142 homicides in Georgia prisons between 2018-2023. The state knows gang separation reduces violence. It refuses to implement it. California and Texas proved targeted segregation works. Georgia houses rival gangs together, watches the violence, and blames the victims. ¹

The Numbers Georgia Won’t Address

• 142 homicides in Georgia prisons (2018-2023)
• 100+ homicides in 2024 alone
• 18 facilities with officer vacancy rates exceeding 60%
• Homicide rate 32 times higher than the free population

The Department of Justice found Georgia fails to protect prisoners from violence—a constitutional violation. ² Gang-on-gang violence is a primary driver. Georgia knows this and does nothing effective.

What Actually Works

Other states have implemented what Georgia refuses:

California uses gang intelligence to separate rival members, reducing predictable conflicts. Combined with rehabilitation programs, violence dropped.

Texas transfers high-risk gang leaders to disrupt command structures. Moving leaders breaks networks that organize violence.

Evidence-based segregation doesn’t require new facilities—just different housing assignments and intelligence sharing.

Georgia has the data. It tracks gang affiliations. It simply doesn’t use the information to prevent violence.

The Staffing Excuse

Georgia claims staffing shortages prevent gang management. But understaffing makes separation more necessary, not less:

• Fewer officers means less ability to intervene in violence
• Gangs fill the supervision vacuum
• Housing rival gangs together guarantees conflict officers can’t stop
• Proactive separation requires less intervention than reactive crisis response

The state spends more managing violence than prevention would cost.

Beyond Separation: What Else Works

Gang separation alone isn’t sufficient. Effective programs include:

• Cognitive behavioral therapy — Addresses the thinking patterns that enable violence
• Job training — Creates alternatives to gang membership for identity and income
• Mental health services — Treats trauma that makes gang affiliation attractive
• Education — Provides pathways that don’t depend on gang networks

Georgia’s rehabilitation programming is among the worst nationally. GPS examined this in Forced Criminality: Inside Georgia’s Prison Violence Factory.

The Real Barrier

Gang separation requires political will, not new money:

• Use existing gang intelligence for housing decisions
• Transfer leaders when networks concentrate
• Allocate programming resources to gang-exit initiatives
• Train staff on gang dynamics and de-escalation

Georgia won’t implement these approaches because doing so would acknowledge the problem exists. Acknowledging the problem creates liability. So people keep dying.

Take Action

Use Impact Justice AI to send advocacy emails demanding gang separation policies. The free tool crafts personalized messages to Georgia lawmakers—no experience required.

Ask your legislators:

• Why does Georgia house rival gangs together despite known violence risk?
• What gang separation protocols exist, and why aren’t they working?
• What will it take to implement what California and Texas proved effective?

Further Reading

• Forced Criminality: Inside Georgia’s Prison Violence Factory
• $700 Million More—And Nothing to Show for It
• GPS Mortality Database
• GPS Statistics Dashboard

About Georgia Prisoners’ Speak (GPS)

Georgia Prisoners’ Speak (GPS) is a nonprofit investigative newsroom built in partnership with incarcerated reporters, families, advocates, and data analysts. Operating independently from the Georgia Department of Corrections, GPS documents the truth the state refuses to acknowledge: extreme violence, fatal medical neglect, gang-controlled dorms, collapsed staffing, fraudulent reporting practices, and unconstitutional conditions across Georgia’s prisons.

Through confidential reporting channels, secure communication, evidence verification, public-records requests, legislative research, and professional investigative standards, GPS provides the transparency the system lacks. Our mission is to expose abuses, protect incarcerated people, support families, and push Georgia toward meaningful reform based on human rights, evidence, and public accountability.

Every article is part of a larger fight — to end the silence, reveal the truth, and demand justice.

1. GPS Statistics, https://gps.press/gdc-statistics/[↩]
2. DOJ Report, https://www.justice.gov/d9/2024-09/findings_report_-_investigation_of_georgia_prisons.pdf[↩]