Macon-Bibb County Mayor Announces Six Initiatives for Jail Reform and Public Safety – September 30, 2025
Macon-Bibb County Mayor Announces Six Initiatives for Jail Reform and Public Safety – September 30, 2025
On September 30, 2025, the Mayor of Macon-Bibb County held a press conference to announce six interconnected initiatives aimed at improving public safety, reducing jail overcrowding, and addressing mental health and re-entry needs at the Bibb County Law Enforcement Center (LEC). The initiatives were developed over months of collaboration with criminal justice and community partners. The Mayor emphasized that the programs target nonviolent offenders and are designed to be fiscally responsible and evidence-based. A notable discrepancy exists in the transcript: the Mayor stated that a request for qualifications (RFQ) for jail expansion was filed that day and that proposals are due on July 26, 2025—a date that falls before the meeting date provided. This inconsistency could not be resolved from available materials.
Discussion Items
- Formation of the Making Justice and Wellness Task Force: The task force will operate as part of the existing Macon Violence Prevention (MVP) program and include representatives from the Sheriff's Department, District Attorney, Solicitor, Public Defender, Superior Court (via a representative), River Edge Behavioral Health, the MVP coordinator, the Probate Judge, an inmate representative, re-entry organizations, and other community stakeholders. The Mayor will serve on the task force or designate a representative.
- Full Inmate Audit: An audit of all LEC inmates will be conducted within 30 days to determine charges, bond status, probation holds, and treatment needs. The goal is to identify up to 150 nonviolent individuals eligible for community supervision via ankle monitors.
- Making Justice Works Program (Electronic Monitoring): Eligible nonviolent offenders will be released to community supervision with ankle monitors, with mandatory employment if physically able. The county will absorb the cost of monitoring (negotiated rate of $6.75/day with no registration fee, compared to typical $10/day and $150 registration). The program aims to eliminate the two-tier justice system where those who can afford bond avoid jail while others cannot. The Mayor cited a National Institute of Justice study showing a 31% reduction in recidivism from similar programs and a U.S. Senate subcommittee report that less than 1% of those confined at home under the CARES Act reoffended. Estimated annual savings of $2.5 million from reduced incarceration are expected.
- Macon InReach Program Expansion: This existing re-entry program will be enhanced to provide pre-release planning, continuous care, and connections to housing, treatment, and jobs for inmates remaining in the jail. The task force will research best practices.
- Jail-Based Competency Restoration Program: To address inmates found incompetent to stand trial who wait years in jail for state hospital placement, the county will implement a program modeled after successful ones in Fulton, Cobb, Chatham, and Dodge Counties. This will bring mental health care into the jail.
- Jail Expansion and Upgrades: A request for qualifications (RFQ) was issued that day for companies to bid on expanding and upgrading the LEC. The plan includes closing a portion of Hawthorne Street behind the jail, removing the Higgins building to create space, and adding at least 25 beds for inmates with mental illness. The Sheriff will lead the operational needs. The Mayor noted that eventually a new jail may be built on previously purchased land, but immediate focus is on expansion.
Key Outcomes
- Immediate Actions: The inmate audit and enrollment of eligible individuals into electronic monitoring will begin immediately (within the week). The RFQ for jail expansion is released; proposals are due July 26, 2025 (noted discrepancy with meeting date).
- Budget: $500,000 has been allocated from the Macon Violence Prevention budget to cover monitoring and wraparound services. The county will pay the ankle monitor costs for qualifying inmates to remove financial barriers.
- Task Force: The Making Justice and Wellness Task Force will convene to oversee implementation, research best practices, and make recommendations. An inmate representative will be selected (current or former inmate or family member) and will receive travel and accommodations as needed.
- Next Steps: The RFQ evaluation will proceed over 90–120 days; architectural design and cost estimates will be presented to the Commission for final approval. Staffing improvements at the jail will continue, with a $5,000 pay increase for new officers recently implemented.
- Media Q&A Highlights: The Mayor addressed concerns about the two-tier justice system, the timeline for releasing up to 150 inmates (dependent on court approval and job placement), the land for a future jail, and the role of the inmate representative.
Meeting Transcript
Well, good morning. First of all, I'd like to thank everyone for joining us here. Um for this very important announcement today. We are here today because public safety remains our top priority in making Bib County. This includes promoting public safety at the Bibb County Law Enforcement Center. Today we are announcing significant new and expanding initiatives to make that facility and our community whole and safer. The initiatives that we will discuss today are the result of months of planning, research, conversations, and collaborations. We have several important partners that we have here today, and we will introduce those as we get to them in the program. But I want to thank each and every one of them for taking my calls for taking time to meet with me to have open candid conversations, some that got a little testy, some that got a little emotional, but all for the good of making Bibb County. I know these requests often came on the weekend, sometimes in the evening, late at night, but not a single person ever complained about the work. Thank you for your commitment to this process. As we will discuss a little bit later on, each of you will be an integral part of the success, the transformative work we're about to intake together. Today does mark an important major milestone in our long-term plan to make our community safer, smarter, and more just for everyone. Before we talk about the details of these new initiatives, I want to first acknowledge the recent tragic events at the law enforcement center, where several inmates were injured, and one young man in particular, Mr. Brill Jaheen Johnson, died. I've been in touch with members of his family. I plan on meeting them in the very near future to discuss some options. But sympathy alone is not enough. We all know that. So I'm gonna provide you a summary of what we will talk about today. These are our new initiatives that we're announcing at this time. So we're announcing six interconnected initiatives. Number one is a formation of the Making Justice and Wellness Task Force. Number two, we'll be launching a full inmate audit. Number three, we were launching a program called Making Justice Works. Number four, enhancing and expanding the Making in Reach program. Number five, creating a jail-based competency restoration program. And finally, today we'll be releasing our request for qualifications to begin the process of planning for a jail expansion. As many of you know, before coming mayor, I practice as an attorney for some 30 years. All that in Making based. But during my 30 years of experience, I had the opportunity to represent people, individuals that had issues similar to those that are in the law enforcement center during their incarceration and after their incarceration. At that same time, I had the pleasure to work at the district attorney's office, even prosecuting cases, but helping do legal research as well for almost eight years. I've also had this opportunity to visit jails across the state of Georgia to compare what they had going on compared to what we have going on here making. I had an opportunity to look at their systems and practice law there to know what they do right and we can do better. That is part of the personal experience that I bring to this table, not as your mayor, but as someone who has practiced law, who has been on both sides of the equation, someone who has been there with the victim. We have been there with the person who committed the crime to learn all the intricacies of what we're doing here today. That's how I know that facilities, while they are important, our work must be more comprehensive, and I can assure you it will be. You know, the key to assess for the Making Violence Prevention Program is the buy-in at every level and a fully collaborative approach among our partners that you see here today. We will implement that same model here with the appointment of our making justice and wellness task force that will operate as part of the MVP program. This time I like to have those that are in our making violence prevention program to stand and be recognized. Thank you all for being here today. Thank you for the work that you've done in the past, but more importantly, thank you for the work that you're about to do in the future. Now, before we talk about each specific initiative, it is important to take a moment to acknowledge the values that will guide our work together. This is something that I believe that we all share. First, we will always make safety our top priority for all involved. Let me be clear: none of these initiatives are a get out of jail card free for violent offenders. If you commit a violent crime in Macin Bibb County, you will be sent to jail, you will be staying in jail. We have our district attorney here today that will make that happen, and we have our sheriff that will make that happen as well as our judges. These programs mainly charge or target nonviolent offenders. This is not being soft on crime, this is being smart on crime.
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