Commissioner : Homer Bryson

Director of Public Affairs : Joan Heath

Offenders Housed in Counties Affected by Hurricane Matthew Safely Relocated

Forsyth, GA - Georgia Department of Corrections’ (GDC) Commissioner Homer Bryson announced this morning that, in keeping with Governor Nathan Deal’s directive of mandatory evacuations along coastal Georgia East of I-95, offenders from GDC facilities located in the affected counties have been safely relocated to other facilities across the state.

At approximately 6:30 p.m., Thursday, October 6, GDC staff from across the state began moving 1,286 offenders from Coastal State Prison and 257 Coastal Transitional Center residents to other facilities within Georgia not affected by the approaching storm. As of 7:30 a.m., Friday, October 7, the combined total of 1,543 offenders had been safely transported.

For those individuals who have loved ones in our affected facilities and have questions, please contact the main GDC Call Center at 404-656-4661.

“Our responsibility of providing secure and safe facilities includes ensuring those in our custody are kept out of harm’s way,” said Commissioner Bryson. “I am proud of our GDC staff who remain committed to performing their duties, even under such extreme conditions,” added Bryson.

Several GDC staff members have been assigned to the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency’s (GEMHSA) State Operations Center in Atlanta, and those individuals are working closely with our partners to monitor weather conditions around the clock. A determination will be made for transporting offenders back to their permanent facilities once any potential damage is assessed, and we are certain conditions are safe to return.

Commissioner Bryson is committed to providing all staff, resources and equipment necessary to assist GEMHSA and our other partners both during and after the storm. GDC security staff is supporting contraflow efforts on I-16, and debris removal teams and all GDC fire teams are on standby to assist with requests for assistance.

The GDC has one of the largest prison systems in the U.S. and is responsible for supervising nearly 52,000 state prisoners. It is the largest law enforcement agency in the state with approximately 10,500 employees.

For more information on the GDC call 478-992-5247 or visit https://gdc.georgia.gov.