Georgia Department of Corrections
James E. Donald, Commissioner
Director of Public Affairs
Joan Heath
Contact: Office of Public Affairs (404) 656-9772
For Immediate Release
I. W. Davis Probation Detention Center Slated for Closure
Sentencing Option to Remain for Judiciary
Jefferson – The Georgia Department of Corrections announced today the I.W. Davis Probation Detention Center will close effective October 1 this year. The Center houses probationers sentenced by the courts, and operates at a cost of approximately $2.4 million per year.
The closing is part of a strategy embarked upon by the Department to increase capacity of existing large facilities, while simultaneously taking down small, inefficient facilities. Other alternatives, such as Day Reporting Centers will expand, continuing to allow a full array of sentencing options for the judiciary.
There are currently 54 employees working at the Center, each of whom will be offered positions within the Department and within a 50-mile radius. Commissioner James E. Donald stressed, “In our planning, it has been top priority to ensure there is no loss of jobs.”
Offenders who do not complete their sentence prior to the closing date will be transferred to one of another five Probation Detention Centers across the state. To accommodate additional offenders, capacity has been increased at these other facilities through the addition of triple-bunks, another efficiency measure.
Work details currently being provided by probationers at the Center will be reassigned to other facilities within close proximity. The Department recognizes this valuable service provided to counties, and details will continue where feasible. Future plans for the state-owned facility have not yet been determined.
The Department of Corrections is the fifth largest prison system in the United States and is responsible for supervising nearly 60,000 state prisoners and over 150,000 probationers. It is the largest law enforcement agency in the state with approximately 15,000 employees.
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