Fulton Co. Sheriff Discusses Combating Crime Amid The Pandemic, Addressing Overcrowding At County Jail
In 2020 when Fulton County Sheriff Patrick Labat campaigned to be sheriff of Georgia’s most populated county, he committed to addressing several key areas.
Those areas included: public safety, crime reduction, improving jail conditions, increasing mental health services, expanding reentry programs and reviewing the sheriff’s office use-of-force policies.
Roughly one year after being elected as one of Fulton County’s top law enforcement officers and 7 months on the job, Sheriff Labat was a guest on Tuesday’s edition of “Closer Look.”
He talked with show host Rose Scott about how the sheriff’s office is working to tackle the focus areas he promised to address during his campaign trail amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We had, at one point, over 800 people that were incarcerated, that had been incarcerated longer than a year and not been to a second arraignment,” Labat explained.
Labat further explained that the sheriff’s office is working to address overcrowding by working with the district attorney and solicitor general to review inmate cases.
“At any given time, I have between 200 to 300 young men that are sleeping in devices we call boats and they are on the floor, “said Labat.
During the conversation, Sheriff Labat also talked about combating violent crime during the ongoing health crisis, his desire to lease or buy the Atlanta City Detention Center to convert it into a custody facility.
To listen to the full conversation, click the audio player above.
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