Fulton County reports falling jail population, outlines jail-blitz repairs and ongoing consent-decree work

Fulton County officials reported a decline in the county jail’s average daily population and outlined a multi-month facility repair program, while community advocates urged the Board of Commissioners to pursue policy changes alongside physical fixes.

County staff said average length of stay improved in January, and the average monthly jail population fell to about 2,470 inmates in January with a one-day mid‑February snapshot of 2,497. Steve Naraki of the county’s strategy office said some reporting metrics remain unavailable while staff shift to automated data pulls, and that the office expects several months to stand up revised data reporting measures.

The county’s jail-blitz maintenance program has completed seven of 11 housing units (about 64 percent), Joseph Davis of asset management told the commission. Davis said Housing Unit 5 South was completed in February and 7 North was “99 percent” complete, projecting March 1 as a conservative completion date for 7 North. He said the first round of blitz work should finish by late spring, with additional assessments and recommendations to follow.

Why it matters: the facility repairs are part of a broader response to frequent reports of poor conditions and recent incidents…