Nearly 200 Georgia prison employees arrested on job-related charges

The list obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution shows 195 Georgia Department of Corrections employees arrested through June 30. Of those, 143 are state certified police officers. The charges include 69 arrests related to drugs, with some prison employees bringing drugs into prison to provide to inmates. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)

Nearly 200 Georgia state prison employees have been arrested for job-related crimes since the beginning of 2020, according to a list obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Of the 195 Georgia Department of Corrections employees arrested through June 30, 143 are state certified police officers, mostly corrections officers.

That includes 69 arrested related to drugs. Most appear to be prison employees who brought drugs into prison, often to provide to inmates. The drug arrests include 41 for marijuana, 11 for marijuana and methamphetamine, and nine for meth alone. In one case, two employees tried to smuggle meth inside a prison in a Hot Pocket frozen turnover.