Fulton County, Georgia

Values

Individuals will be treated with:

• Fairness
• Equality regardless of race, circumstances, or availability of resources
• Dignity and respect

The pretrial system will operate with:

• Unbiased decision making
• Efficiency
• Fiscal responsibility
• Due process
• Inclusivity of stakeholders and citizens
• Transparency
• Consistency

A Foundation for Change

Through its work as a Research-Action Site, Fulton County created a high-functioning, cross-functional policy team that represents community and system stakeholders. Led by the Fulton County Superior Court, the team includes representatives from law enforcement, courts, prosecution, and defense, as well as from community-based non-profit organizations such as the Bail Project and Women on the Rise. This breadth has ensured that system and non-system stakeholders alike can share their perspectives, concerns, and ideas, and be heard on an equal footing.

Working Toward Solutions

The policy team at each Research-Action Site first studies its system as a whole and examines current practices, then discusses areas for advancement. Recognizing that there is no single solution, Fulton County’s system stakeholders, community groups, and community members identified the most significant changes on which to focus their time and resources.

Validation and Implementation of the PSA

The top priority was to implement the Public Safety Assessment (PSA), using locally validated information to assist with pretrial decision making. With assistance from RTI International, APPR’s national research partner, the county engaged in a local historical data validation study and in comprehensive stakeholder education activities. Fulton County implemented the PSA in December 2022 and has continued working to ensure the tool is used properly and to report on its outcomes.

Optimizing the Use of Pretrial Supervision and Supportive Services

The county developed a Release Conditions Matrix (RCM) to recommend supervision conditions and supportive services associated with a person’s PSA score. Since implementation, PSA reports have been refined to include each person’s likelihood of success—rather than failure—resulting in more recommendations for pretrial supervision; a large majority (81 percent) have been placed on the least restrictive level. Stakeholder and community education efforts continue to build knowledge and confidence in the PSA and RCM.

Research as a Driver for Policy Improvement

In addition to providing technical assistance to implement the PSA, APPR and its partners produced research and evidence-based guidance for Fulton County on the national and state landscape of pretrial laws, systematic jail review, and system mapping, and provided resources on undertaking research-informed policy and practice. In response, the county’s policy team created the Pretrial Policy and Practice Improvement (PPPI) workgroup to examine issues uncovered by research and bring them before the full policy team.

Reducing Time to Disposition for Unindicted Cases

Community and system stakeholders learned that nearly half of the people held in the Fulton County Jail were unindicted and had been detained for 90 days (the legal threshold) or longer. Close to the beginning of Fulton County’s participation in the APPR initiative, stakeholders addressed this issue, and the PPPI workgroup recommended a systematic approach to identify these cases and expedite their processing, which it has begun to implement.

Expanding Diversion Options

To address excessive length of stay in the county jail, the PPPI workgroup examined detention diversion options and incarceration alternatives for people in the pretrial phase, and identified gaps and barriers to pretrial diversion, with the goal of increasing the number of people diverted. The county is developing a resource directory for system partners that lists available diversion programs and entry criteria.

Expanding Nonmonetary Release at First Appearance

The policy team’s PPPI workgroup is exploring ways to expand options for releasing people without monetary conditions, hoping to reduce the number of people detained simply because they cannot pay a financial release condition. Some options include increasing release on personal recognizance (locally referred to as unsecured judicial release, or UJR), continued judicial education about the PSA, and helping judges better understand whether people with a financial condition are, in fact, released.

Data Sustainability

Fulton County developed the Open Government Portal, which houses a collection of reports and data on the criminal legal system’s performance. Fulton County Commissioners also created a Justice and Safety Dashboard and identified pretrial performance measures that will be used to ensure system accountability and inform future decisions and priorities.

Policy Team

• Fulton County Superior Court (lead agency)
• Fulton County Solicitor General’s Office
• Fulton County Information Technology
• Fulton County Magistrates
• Fulton County Office of the Court Administrator
• Fulton County Office of the Public Defender
• Fulton County Solicitor General’s Office
• Pretrial Services
• Pretrial Supervision
• Atlanta Police Department
• The Bail Project
• Familiar Faces Project
• Women on the Rise
• Community members