strongernow
06-03-2004, 08:04 PM
Detention site expansion halted in s. Fulton
By CARLOS CAMPOS, CHARLES YOO
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 06/02/04
Georgia prisons officials have temporarily halted the expansion of a detention center in south Fulton County after area residents rebelled against it.
The Department of Corrections began clearing 25 acres recently for a $10.9 million, 500-bed addition to the J.C. Larmore Probation Detention Center on Stonewall Tell Road near Union City. There is already a 200-bed detention center on adjacent property.
Residents in surrounding neighborhoods oppose the center's expansion, worried that it will hurt property values. Their fears were heightened after a man convicted of aggravated assault escaped from the detention center in April. He was caught three hours later.
"Our sense of security has been totally destroyed," said AnJeanne James, an opponent. "We're a community that could close our door and leave it unlocked. We can't do that."
State Sen. Kasim Reed (D-Atlanta) and U.S. Rep. David Scott (D-Atlanta) have sided with the residents, asking the agency to move the project to a less-populated area.
Corrections officials said Wednesday they will stop construction on the center for 30 days "to look for other options," said Brian Owens, executive assistant to Corrections Commissioner James Donald. "Whether it be improving the appearance of the planned center [or] exploring options for the relocation of the center."
Probation detention centers are alternatives to costly prison sentences, Owens said. People convicted of mostly drug and property crimes would be sentenced to the center, usually for three to six months. Then they are released to serve probation.
Inmates live in open dormitories, not cells. But the facility will be surrounded by barbed wire and would have to accept some violent offenders, although most serious violent crimes — including murder and rape — require mandatory time in a state prison.
Most of the money for the center's construction, $9.6 million, comes from federal funding that will expire in 2006 if not spent. Finding a new location and building a center by then would be difficult, Owens said.
By CARLOS CAMPOS, CHARLES YOO
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 06/02/04
Georgia prisons officials have temporarily halted the expansion of a detention center in south Fulton County after area residents rebelled against it.
The Department of Corrections began clearing 25 acres recently for a $10.9 million, 500-bed addition to the J.C. Larmore Probation Detention Center on Stonewall Tell Road near Union City. There is already a 200-bed detention center on adjacent property.
Residents in surrounding neighborhoods oppose the center's expansion, worried that it will hurt property values. Their fears were heightened after a man convicted of aggravated assault escaped from the detention center in April. He was caught three hours later.
"Our sense of security has been totally destroyed," said AnJeanne James, an opponent. "We're a community that could close our door and leave it unlocked. We can't do that."
State Sen. Kasim Reed (D-Atlanta) and U.S. Rep. David Scott (D-Atlanta) have sided with the residents, asking the agency to move the project to a less-populated area.
Corrections officials said Wednesday they will stop construction on the center for 30 days "to look for other options," said Brian Owens, executive assistant to Corrections Commissioner James Donald. "Whether it be improving the appearance of the planned center [or] exploring options for the relocation of the center."
Probation detention centers are alternatives to costly prison sentences, Owens said. People convicted of mostly drug and property crimes would be sentenced to the center, usually for three to six months. Then they are released to serve probation.
Inmates live in open dormitories, not cells. But the facility will be surrounded by barbed wire and would have to accept some violent offenders, although most serious violent crimes — including murder and rape — require mandatory time in a state prison.
Most of the money for the center's construction, $9.6 million, comes from federal funding that will expire in 2006 if not spent. Finding a new location and building a center by then would be difficult, Owens said.