News Release - August 15, 2008
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
Rivers State Prison in Milledgeville Slated for Realignment
Atlanta – The Georgia Department of Corrections announced today the realignment of the 1,100-bed Rivers State Prison in Milledgeville effective the first of October this year. The Department also announced that simultaneously, these resources will be consolidated, utilizing a portion of seven new 256-bed housing units, or “Fast Track” beds, which will open at other prisons this fiscal year to house the inmates currently located at Rivers, as well as additional inmates coming into the prison system.
Rivers, one of five state prisons in Milledgeville, was originally constructed as part of the Central State Mental Health Hospital complex in 1937. It was converted to a state prison in 1981. Because of its original design, Rivers is difficult physically on correctional officers, it lacks the safety design features of other state prisons, it requires more staff to secure, and is challenging in terms of staff recruitment and retention.
“Our mission is to protect and serve the public,” said Corrections Commissioner James E. Donald. “Our challenge, however, is to accomplish that mission with minimum expense to the taxpayers. Replacing old, inefficient, staff-intensive infrastructure with modern and far less staff-intensive prison design allows us to address both the mission and the challenge.”
The Department anticipates garnering approximately $6 million annually in personnel savings due to the new design. The Fast Track housing units will open at Macon, Dooly, Smith, Ware, Valdosta, Hays and Coastal State Prisons beginning next month. The Department also announced plans to add nearly 1,400 triple-bunk beds to various prisons across the state. The state prison system will add a total of approximately 3,000 beds this year, more than enough to absorb the realignment of Rivers State Prison.
Employment at other state facilities with vacant positions will be offered to the majority of Rivers’ staff. There are four other prisons located in Milledgeville, and another five facilities within driving distance of approximately 45 minutes.
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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