In a major victory for criminal justice reform, the city of Atlanta has taken the next step toward closing the Atlanta City Detention Center (ACDC) and repurposing the facility for other uses that would benefit the community. The city will set up a community task force to study alternative uses for the jail, which will present its findings within a year.
The campaign to close the jail has been ongoing for many years, led by Women on the Rise and the Racial Justice Action Center (RJAC), as part of their efforts to reduce mass incarceration in Atlanta. Research|Action has long supported RJAC’s work through the analysis of arrest and jail data and conducting research into the ACDC’s history and finances. Our report on the jail, The History of the Atlanta City Detention Center, can be found here.