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IMPACT GEORGIA MAGAZINE
Transporting an inmate from a secure prison facility to any location is a potentially dangerous assignment. In 2017, the Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC) assembled an internal team, responsible for review of existing processes and procedures related to the overall inmate transport process. The department found that they had received approximately 16,000 court productions orders in 2017 that required transportation of inmates back to the courts for court proceedings by either the GDC or county Sheriff. This resulted in over 32,000 inmate transports, yearly. The GDC began a diligent endeavor to make an impact on these numbers from a public safety and fiscal stand point.
The GDC and Judge Wade Padgett of the Augusta Judicial Circuit began working together to explore opportunities to curtail the amount of transports, which resulted in the creation of a two-phase approach, utilizing teleconferencing and video hearing technology to conduct judicially authorized hearings.
Technology and the Courts
Working Together
to Minimize Inmate Transports
Video by Kasandra Ortiz and Alyssa Riggs | Kasandra.Ortiz@gdc.ga.gov and Alyssa.Riggs@gdc.ga.gov