Georgia Operates World’s Highest Incarceration Rate While Criminalizing Poverty Through Systematic Wealth Extraction

Georgia operates the world's highest rate of correctional control at 881 per 100,000 residents—nearly 2.5 times the national average—while systematically extracting wealth from poor families through cash bail, fines, and fees practices operating at 20 times national averages. The state cycles 236,000 different people through jails annually, with 26 localities weaponizing their criminal justice systems to generate revenue from predominantly Black and poor communities.

Key Facts

1. Georgia's incarceration rate of 881 per 100,000 residents is nearly 2.5 times the national average of 350-400 per 100,000
2. At least 236,000 different individuals cycle through Georgia jails annually—one in every 45 Georgia residents
3. Boys born into families earning less than $14,000 annually face 9.6% incarceration rate by age 30, compared to 0.49% for those from families earning above $143,000
4. At least 26 Georgia localities engage in fines and fees practices at rates 20 times higher than national averages
5. Nearly 60% of those incarcerated in Georgia are Black, despite African Americans comprising only 31% of the state's population

Quotables

Georgia has created a state legal framework that has allowed localities to weaponize their criminal legal systems through abusive fines and fees practices that forcibly extract wealth from Georgians experiencing poverty

The median bail bond of $10,000 represents eight months of income for the typical detained defendant, whose median annual pre-incarceration income of $15,109 falls at just 48% of the median for non-incarcerated people

What’s New

• Investigation reveals Georgia operates the world's highest correctional control rate, surpassing even the U.S. national rate that already leads globally
• Documents systematic wealth extraction through fines and fees practices at 20 times national averages in 26 localities, contradicting official narratives about public safety priorities

Accountability

Georgia Department of Corrections Commissioner, local judges setting unconstitutional bail amounts, district attorneys in 26 high-extraction localities, and Georgia Budget and Policy Institute-identified jurisdictions operating government-sanctioned loan sharking operations

Reporting Leads

1. Georgia Budget and Policy Institute's 2022 report identifying specific 26 localities with excessive fines and fees practices
2. Court records in seven rural Georgia counties where 56% of bookings are African American for motor vehicle/traffic charges
3. Georgia Department of Corrections annual statistical reports showing $10+ million in annual fees extracted from prisoners and families 2021-2023

Related Assets

• Georgia Budget & Policy Institute Report on Fines and Fees
• DOJ Investigation of Georgia Prisons
• Brookings Institution Study on Incarceration by Income