HomePolicy ReformTopic: 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic

2019–20 coronavirus pandemic

Georgia prison spending has increased, even as prison populations have declined.

Key Points

  • The nation’s prison population has declined in many states, including in Georgia, but a new report shows that prison reforms to decrease the number of inmates haven’t translated into meaningful taxpayer savings.
  • Departments of Corrections budgets are actually increasing throughout the country, but prison costs still account for no more than about 5% of most states’ total budgets.
  • Instead of focusing on state prison budgets and costs per inmate, policymakers need to consider the total cost of crime—both monetary and social—that a community pays and how to reduce it.

Prison reform debates often focus on reducing prison populations to save taxpayers money. But is that actually possible?

In a new report for the Manhattan Institute, Joshua Crawford, a Public Safety Fellow at the Georgia Center for Opportunity (GCO), argues that marginally decreasing prison populations doesn’t yield the taxpayer savings policymakers have long touted. Crawford also shows that continuing to focus mainly on cost savings instead of on other measures to reduce crime and recidivism may lead to unintended fiscal and social consequences for states, including Georgia.

To understand this argument, it’s essential to first understand the landscape of state prison populations and the associated costs of incarcerating an individual.

Understanding prison populations and associated costs

State prison populations decreased by 24% overall between 2010 and 2023, with 43 out of 50 states experiencing a decline. But despite those significant decreases, Departments of Corrections budgets haven’t followed suit. 

In fact, Crawford’s report shows there is little to no relationship between changes in prison populations and changes in corrections spending. 

Departments of Corrections budgets are actually increasing, but corrections costs still account for no more than about 5% of most states’ total budgets. 

Nevertheless, many policymakers and advocates continue to argue that cutting prison populations will save money. So where is the disconnect between the numbers and the messaging? 

Most often, the total cost per inmate per year is calculated by dividing the total costs of the prison system by the number of incarcerated people, but this is a misleading figure. Many of the more costly parts of a Department of Corrections budget (e.g., staff salaries, utility bills) are long-run or fixed costs that don’t vary with marginal changes in a prison’s population. To get a more accurate estimate of possible savings, it’s more important to consider short-run costs, like food and toiletries, which can vary immediately with a change in a prison’s population.

Interpreting the numbers for Georgia prisons

Georgia is one of the 43 states that, on average, saw a decrease in their prison populations between 2010 and 2023. The state experienced an 11.7% decrease in the number of inmates during that time. 

Georgia falls in line with overall national trends year over year. The figure below illustrates the decrease in both Georgia’s and the nation’s number of incarcerated people. The biggest departure was in 2019, when Georgia seemingly had a sharp increase, but that increase was actually minimal at just 2.2%.

And like most states in recent years, Georgia saw a rebound in the number of inmates after the COVID-19 pandemic, when more people were released to help alleviate stress on prison systems.

Georgia's prison population decreased between 2010 and 2023, in line with national trends.

Black Line = National Trend, Blue Line = Georgia Trend

The data for Georgia also reinforces the lack of a relationship between the change in the number of inmates and the change in corrections spending. The table below reveals that even though Georgia’s prison population decreased from 2010 to 2023, corrections spending increased 23.6% during that time.

Georgia's prison population decreased from 2010 to 2023, but prison spending went up during that time.

Data from 2019 further reinforces this absence of a relationship. During that year, Georgia saw a very slight increase of 1,169 people in its prison population, but the state spent $21,430 less on corrections that year compared to 2018.

A better focus for Georgia policymakers

Instead of focusing on state prison budgets and costs per inmate, policymakers need to consider the total cost of crime—both monetary and social—that a community pays and how to reduce it. 

Crime itself costs our nation anywhere from $2.6 trillion to $5.76 trillion each year, with violent crime accounting for 85% of those costs. A single homicide can cost upwards of $9 million in government resources and lost potential earnings of victims. This doesn’t account for the financial burdens it can put on families and communities. 

In addition to the monetary cost of crime, communities pay a significant social price—and none more so than high-crime, impoverished areas. Effective public safety measures are foundational to upward mobility. Without them, these communities will continue to see the loss of businesses, local resources, and community connections that help people flourish.

With this in mind, policymakers and advocates should refocus criminal justice efforts toward reforms proven to reduce crime and recidivism. Improvements on both of these fronts generate cost savings of their own, in addition to saving lives and lowering fear of personal harm.

Best practice criminal justice reforms fall into eight solution categories that could spark meaningful change:

  • Addressing community disrepair
  • Investing in a well-trained police force
  • Building trust by protecting victims
  • Addressing gang violence
  • Addressing the low number of homicide detectives and low clearance rates
  • Ensuring appropriate sentencing
  • Implementing cognitive behavioral therapy for juvenile offenders
  • Evaluating and updating re-entry programs

In Georgia, policymakers and advocates should consider these specific efforts to reduce crime and recidivism:

  • Implementing reforms to help law enforcement close non-fatal shooting cases (e.g., the Firearm Assault Shoot Team in Denver, Colorado)
  • Broadening cognitive behavioral therapy offerings for juvenile offenders, which has shown promising results in juvenile recidivism rates
  • Prioritizing data collection and evaluation to help guide future programs and reforms
  • Helping communities through a holistic approach that includes job training and opportunities, affordable housing, and family programs

In addition to the above policy suggestions, GCO has prepared in-depth reports focusing on reducing crime in two major Georgia cities—Atlanta and Columbus.

As Crawford says of potential criminal justice reforms in Georgia, “lawmakers should focus conversations about criminal justice where they belong: on protecting the public and creating a fair and just system that values the lives, liberty, and property of Georgia families.” In doing so, policymakers can transform entire communities by making them safer for the people who live there.

Image Credit: Canva

Atlanta's public safety funding for 2025 invests in best practices for better community safety.

Key Points

  • The Atlanta City Council approved nearly $30 million dollars for public safety funding as part of the 2025 city budget. 
  • They also approved a 3.8% increase in the number of authorized positions within the Atlanta Police Department.
  • More officers on the street and more tools for those officers generally mean less crime.

Atlanta’s City Council has adopted its budget for 2025, which includes $29.8 million for public safety funding as well as a 3.8% increase in the number of authorized positions within the police department. 

This is good news for the city. In the first quarter of 2024, murders in Atlanta were up 15%—a trend that runs opposite to other major cities and to Atlanta’s own drop in violent crime in 2023. 

While it’s not helpful to overreact to changes during such a short period of time, the increase is a reminder that Atlanta must keep prioritizing best practices to lower crime, reduce fear, and foster an environment where opportunity can thrive.

Atlanta's murder rate is up 15% in the first quarter of 2024.

Atlanta public safety funding to boost a key element of the justice system

Atlanta, like many cities around the country, began to see increased homicides in the late 2010s that then exploded with the onset of the COVID-19 lockdowns, urban unrest, and changes in policing practices in 2020. Atlanta then had three of its deadliest years in decades in 2020, 2021, and 2022. 

Thankfully Atlanta’s elected leaders have not sat by idle. By investing more in policing, Atlanta Mayor Dickens and the city council are attempting a time-tested truism: more police means less crime. 

Police are the element of the criminal justice system most visible to the public and the arm with which citizens are most likely to interact. As Eastern Kentucky University professor Dr. Gary Potter puts it, “[t]he American system of criminal justice is predicated on an assumption of effective policing. After all, in order to deter criminals and punish the evil-doers you have to catch them.”

This is more than theoretical. Research on policing and crime has repeatedly found that more well-managed police leads to less crime. Most recently, a 2018 study looked at police and crime data from 1960 through 2010 and concluded that every $1 spent on policing generates about $1.63 in social benefits, mostly through reductions in homicides.

Atlanta City Council invests in technology for a safer community environment

Atlanta’s public safety funding will go to more than just additional police staffing and pay incentives for officers. Other allocations include:

  • $3.4 million for technology upgrades like body cameras, data storage, and identification technology.
  • $750,000 for additional security cameras in city parks and other areas highlighted by the department. 

Of particular importance are the funds allocated for additional cameras.

Washington, D.C., which until recently had been plagued by skyrocketing homicides and carjackings, recently implemented a similar expanded security camera program. As a result of the program, DC chief of police Pamela Smith recently revealed a substantial increase in arrests for shootings, carjackings, and robberies. Importantly, she also noted an increase in cooperation from crime-weary citizens due to increased trust in the department. 

Hopefully the new investments will produce similar results in Atlanta, where residents are equally crime-weary and hoping for relief. 

More Crime Solutions for Atlanta

How to reduce crime in Atlanta: Six practical policy methods (Georgia Center for Opportunity)

A path that could reduce Atlanta’s juvenile crime (Josh Crawford in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

There’s hope for reducing Crime in Georgia (Georgia Center for Opportunity)

There’s a crime divide between Americans and politicians, and voters are watching (Josh Crawford in The Hill)

In addition to earning money, the benefits of work for teens include positive impacts on mental health, physical health, and relationships.

Key Points

  • Research has shown that there are numerous benefits of work for teens and young adults across all areas of life, including finances, relationships, and physical and mental health.
  • Labor force participation rates show teens and young adults are working less than previous generations.
  • Encouraging teens and young adults to work can be a valuable way of helping them lead meaningful lives and become healthy, resilient adults.

As summer break approaches for many teens and young adults, most will be looking forward to leisurely activities like a trip to the beach, camping, or even summer camp. Kids at this developmental age indeed need relaxation and rejuvenation over summer breaks, but it is also a valuable opportunity to reap lifelong benefits.

Parents, guardians, or even mentors may want to encourage their teen to get a summer job—not just to earn a little spending money but because work has many other benefits to the health and resiliency of teens.

It’s true that the brains and bodies of kids need some time to relax and rejuvenate after a long school year—and taking a much-needed break in the summer months can be a good thing. There’s also a lot to be said for getting a summer job that teaches the value of work and offers benefits that reap dividends over the course of their lives.

Work is good for young people

Research shows that seasonal and part-time employment for teenagers and young adults has almost universally positive impacts. The truth is that holding down a summer job is something that previous generations commonly experienced—and enjoyed—but kids today have been comparatively shielded from working until much later in life.

In fact, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the summer labor force participation rate for 16- to 24-year-olds in July 2023 was only 60.2%—slightly down from the previous year’s rate of 60.4%. By comparison, back in July 1989, the rate peaked at 77.5% before trending downward over the next 20-plus years to settle between 60.0% and 60.6% from 2012 to 2018. 

Since then, the rate dropped significantly to 57.3% in 2020 due to the economic dislocation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, though it has since returned to pre-COVID levels at around 60%.

Contrasting by gender, the 2023 gap in summer labor force participation was the smallest on record—at only 0.4%—with only 60.4% of young men working compared to 60.0% for young women. Interestingly—and not surprisingly—the gender gap was its widest at 40.9 percentage points back nearly 75 years ago in July 1950. Also not surprising is that today most summer jobs for teens and young adults are in leisure and hospitality (25%), retail trade (18%), and education and health services (13%). 

Clearly, the current generation of teens and young adults is working less than their predecessors. But what’s the impact on their lives?

They not only miss out on the financial benefits of earning money, but also on learning “soft” skills and attitudes that will positively impact them for the rest of their lives, including time management, respect for supervisors, following instructions, being reliable, demonstrating an upbeat attitude, dressing appropriately, accepting constructive criticism, and even using work-appropriate language.

As teens and young adults take on fewer seasonal or part-time jobs, they miss out on the benefits of work.

In July 2023, the summer labor force participation rate for 16- to 24-year-olds was 60.2%. In July 1989, the rate peaked at 77.5%. The drop means more young people are missing out on the benefits of work.

As teens and young adults take on fewer seasonal or part-time jobs, they miss out on the benefits of work.

In July 2023, the summer labor force participation rate for 16- to 24-year-olds was 60.2%. In July 1989, the rate peaked at 77.5%. The drop means more young people are missing out on the benefits of work.

For young people, benefits of work span all areas of a healthy life

Beyond this, the Georgia Center for Opportunity (GCO) team has thoroughly reviewed the literature and found that there are nine benefits for work that help teens and young men and women develop a strong work ethic that lays the foundation for success in every area of life: 

1. Personal finances: When we think of work, we immediately think of a paycheck. That’s the most obvious benefit. Work enables kids to buy both necessities and luxuries, to pay for education, even to start saving for retirement. Attaching to work early is also important for avoiding the trap of the social safety-net system that can unintentionally keep people mired in poverty.

2. Serving others: Earning money in a free market economy shows the ability to create value by serving others and learning self-reliance.

3. Economic impact: The more people work, the more the economy grows. This creates a more prosperous society and leaves those who work personally better off than those who don’t work. Those who don’t work deny society resources that could have made everyone better off—while simultaneously pulling resources away from other important societal needs.

4. Personal well-being: Work confers dignity and respect. It provides a sense of meaning and purpose in life. In contrast, those who don’t work are, overall, less happy and experience higher levels of personal and familial stress, sadness, despair, hopelessness, apathy, and depression.

5. Mental health: Those who work experience improved mental health outcomes and have higher self-esteem, fewer psychosomatic symptoms, less anxiety, and decreased suicide risk.

6. Alcohol and substance abuse: Those who work generally have reduced drug use and improved treatment outcomes. The impact of substance abuse appears to be greater on those who don’t work.

7. Physical health and lifespan: Those who don’t work generally have poorer physical health, including disrupted sleep patterns, higher risk for cardiovascular disease and respiratory infections, and shorter longevity.

8. Family relationships: Working has a particularly positive impact on males when it comes to family formation. Young men who work are much more likely to marry and have a family.

9. Crime: Working typically has a positive effect on teens and young adults by increasing future wages, building human capital, and reducing criminal behavior and recidivism—especially for economic crimes involving property damage, theft, and drugs. 

Taken together, the evidence is strong for teens and young adults to start working on a seasonal or part-time basis. Whether it’s learning to manage a summer job in between camps, family vacation, and other enrichment activities or working during the academic year after school or on the weekends, the benefits of employment go far beyond earning money. 

While it may be fashionable for parents to shelter their children from the working world as long as possible to allow them to enjoy a more carefree and leisurely adolescence, the data—and generational wisdom—show that we do kids more harm than good by unduly delaying their exposure to the workforce.

Shopping Cart in aisle

Many Americans rely on SNAP benefits to afford food, but these same individuals and families face a trap that keeps them mired in dependency. It’s called the SNAP benefits cliff. A new report from the Georgia Center for Opportunity analyzes some possible solutions for addressing the benefits cliffs still present in safety-net programs like SNAP. 

What are benefits cliffs?

A benefits cliff is when an individual, family, or household loses more in net income and benefits from governmental assistance programs than it gains from additional earnings. This net loss is a perverse incentive that undermines the natural desire to earn more income.

At an individual level—or in the case of SNAP, at a household level—the impact has to do with the ability of the individual or household to overcome the cliff. If the household can increase its earnings (and other income) sufficiently relative to the loss in benefits and taxes, the cliff will have no impact on that specific individual or household.

Who is hurt the most by benefits cliffs?

Our computational analysis shows that it is mathematically possible for some one-member households, where the individual is disabled or elderly, to overcome a benefits cliff with a pay raise of less than 5%. However, almost all other households will require percentage income increases in the double digits or worse.

Larger families, especially those without elderly or disabled members of the household, fare much worse. For example, a family of four (where a single mom is raising three kids, for example) would require a pay raise of between 37% and 121%, assuming the family doesn’t have housing costs. For larger households with disabled or elderly members, that pay raise ranged from 30% to 109%.

Snap Benefits paper cover

 Access the Report:

SOLVING THE FOOD ASSISTANCE (SNAP) BENEFITS CLIFFS

Our comprehensive report on the SNAP Benefits Cliffs outlines the pitfalls in the current structure of the program and steps that can be made at a federal, state, and agency level.

Learn More About This Report

Running the numbers: the impact of benefits cliffs

A family of four would begin experiencing SNAP benefits cliffs when their household income exceeds $36,084. This family would lose around $462.42 in SNAP benefits each month. To overcome those lost benefits, that same family would need to earn $58,280 a year, a 61.5 percent increase in income.

What is the marriage penalty? 

Another example of benefits cliffs’ detrimental impacts lies in the marriage penalty. For instance, a couple choosing to marry would leave them worse off financially by getting married than by staying single. Instead, many couples decide to remain unmarried to avoid the financial burden of the marriage penalty. 

SNAP benefits cliffs are at a 20-year high

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the SNAP maximum allotments were raised significantly—between 45% and 51%. The Thrifty Food Plan was recalculated by the USDA, which impacted these increases. However, SNAP’s current benefits cliffs are at a 20-year high and may be the highest they’ve ever been. 

The situation is getting worse

Setting aside COVID-19 and the emergency allotment program, SNAP benefits cliffs are getting worse and, based on twenty years of data, have never been higher. This was not always the trend. The benefits cliffs cycled up to a high in 2009, slowly came down, and then leveled off for a few years. However, since the pandemic, they have all shot up to record highs.

Policy goals for improvement

We recommend approaching change from a policy perspective, and engaging Congress and the states to solve the problems with SNAP’s benefits cliffs. 

As a public policy goal, it would make sense to design a safety-net assistance program in such a manner that it minimizes potential cliffs for most cases. We believe that it should be relatively easy for individuals and households to overcome benefits cliffs by earning additional income. 

Our recommendations include: 

  • Limiting how long future emergency allotment programs last 
  • Requiring the USDA to recalculate the Thrifty Food Plan
  • Permanently eliminating benefits cliffs that a typical pay raise can’t mitigate
  • Implementing strategies to prevent marriage penalties 
  • Amending U.S. code to test potential solutions via demonstration projects
  • Opening the floor for the Secretary of Agriculture to work with states to solve benefits cliffs
  • Allowing states to conduct §2026 demonstration projects

 

Columbus Cityscape

Violent crime is on the rise in Columbus, Georgia. What are the reasons, and can anything be done to stop it? Those questions are the topic of a new report from the Georgia Center for Opportunity (GCO) focused on Columbus’ recent spike in crime and ideas on how to mitigate it.

Titled “Reducing Crime in Columbus: Safer Communities Through Policy,” the report is authored by Josh Crawford, Director of Criminal Justice Initiatives at GCO.

Cover of the Columbus Crime Report

Access the Report:

Reducing Crime in Columbus

Our Columbus Crime Report details six practical solutions that city leaders can use to reduce crime in Columbus and restore safety, hope, and opportunity to the broader community. 

Learn More About This Report

Reducing Crime in Columbus: Safer Communities through Policy

“Since 2017, crime has been on the rise in Columbus. And it’s only gotten worse during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Crawford said. “It’s imperative that city and community leaders come together to solve this problem. Our new report provides the groundwork.”

Quick Facts on Crime in Columbus

  • Columbus saw one of its most violent years with 59 murders in 2021.
  • The city’s population is on the decline, correlated to the rise in violent crime.
  • A decrease in Columbus police has gone hand-in-hand with the crime spike.
  • Attempted murder convicts in Columbus who were released in 2022 only served 35% of their time.

“The human cost of this violence is dramatic, cutting lives short and leaving behind grieving families and fractured communities,” Crawford said. “The toll of violent crime goes beyond the physical cost to those directly impacted and includes financial costs to victims and taxpayers, the loss of productive years, and decreased economic mobility and growth in communities afflicted with high rates of crime.”

Six Policy Recommendations to Reduce Crime

Fixing the Columbus crime problem is about focusing on the most violent offenders. By addressing gang-related violence and solving more homicide investigations, Columbus can restore community safety, improve trust with city officials and law enforcement, and expand upward mobility and opportunity for residents.

Crawford suggests:

  • Addressing disrepair in Columbus’ communities by expanding cleanup efforts, tearing down or renovating abandoned buildings, and installing adequate street lighting.
  • Building trust between community residents and law enforcement and social services, particularly through protecting the rights of victims.
  • Removing egregious offenders from communities by implementing gang-enhancement provisions such as SB44 (2023) that keep these individuals incarcerated.
  • Improving and requiring pre-entry cognitive behavioral therapy services for all juvenile offenders, no matter how non-violent their offenses.
  • Reevaluating reentry programs through an external third party, examining the impact on revocation, rearrest, and reconviction.

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About The Author

Josh Crawford

Director of Criminal Justice Initiatives

Josh Crawford is a native of Massachusetts. He went to Penn State for his undergraduate degree and then finished law school in Boston. After a brief stint in Sacramento, California, working in the county district attorney’s office, Josh moved to Kentucky to help start the Pegasus Institute, a nonpartisan organization designed to promote opportunity. In addition to serving as executive director of the organization, Josh had a special focus on criminal justice policy.

“By focusing on public safety and order, we can restore hope and opportunity to rural communities.”

Media statement, in the news, Georgia news, ga news

The latest Consumer Price Index released today by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that in the past month, the Federal Reserve successfully achieved its inflation target by meeting a 2% increase in prices on a seasonally adjusted monthly basis. This signifies a step towards maintaining economic stability and balance. But there are still storm clouds on the horizon.

The Georgia Center for Opportunity’s (GCO) take: “While this is positive news, a concerning trend has emerged since the onset of the pandemic,” said Erik Randolph, GCO’s director of research. “Overall, goods cost 18.2% more today than they did before the start of the pandemic due to rampant inflation. Simply put, everyday essentials are far less affordable in 2023 than they were three or four years ago. That hits the impoverished and low-income Americans the hardest. At the federal level, there appears to be a lack of substantive discussion regarding measures to restore the diminished purchasing power of consumers. That is concerning.”

    Mesha Mainor, education, party switch, ga politics

    Key Points

    • Mainor’s party switch shows her dedication to expanding educational options.
    • There is a growing national movement in favor of educational opportunity, with several states enacting universal access to education.
    • Parents show public support for school choice, especially within minority communities, and Mainor’s recognition of the urgent need for better educational options in her district says she’s listening to her constituents.

    Our state and nation would be far better off if there were more principled lawmakers like Rep. Mesha Mainor around.

    Mainor recently made national headlines by announcing her change in party affiliation from Democrat to Republican. A prominent Georgia Democrat and sitting state senator has already vowed to ensure she is defeated in next year’s primary election. Partisanship aside, one of Mainor’s primary reasons for switching was due to her support for expanding educational options to all students.

    Mainor was the only Democrat to vote in favor of Georgia’s Promise Scholarships Act earlier this year. The measure would have put $6,500 per student back into parents’ pockets so they could fund the best educational approaches for their children, including private school tuition. The bill was targeted so that students in some of the poorest performing public school districts across the state would have access.

    The measure passed the Senate with unanimous Republican support but fell short in the House with a number of Republicans breaking with their party to oppose the measure. Thankfully, the bill is alive for the upcoming 2024 session.

    Mainor is a prime example of a lawmaker putting the best interests of her constituents first — especially her constituents who are impoverished and reside in zip codes with limited educational options. This type of integrity is rare in politics and policy making these days.

    But her decision doesn’t stand in a silo. It is reflective of a growing national movement in favor of educational opportunity. Half a dozen states have already enacted universal — or near universal — access to educational opportunity in 2023 alone. Lawmakers across the U.S. are recognizing the growing national consensus around this issue. 

    The most recent evidence is a new poll showing that 71% of Americans support the concept of “school choice,” which is defined as giving taxpayer dollars back to parents to empower them to choose the right school for their child. The COVID-19 pandemic was a catalyst for even stronger public support, with backing for school choice growing seven percentage points between now and the beginning of the pandemic.

    Crucially, 73% of African Americans and 71% of Hispanics support school choice. This is a reality Mainor has recognized in her own district, which is predominantly minority — she sees the desperate need these families have for an educational lifeline.

    “In my district in particular, we have schools with 3% reading proficiency, 3% have obtained math proficiency by the eighth grade,” Mainor told Fox News Digital. “And so to say that this is just how it is and that the kid needs to just suffer these consequences, I don’t agree with that. And I don’t think that all parents agree with that either.”

    Perhaps more revealing is the fact that the poll found widespread support for school choice even among Democrats — to the tune of 66%.

    It’s a shame that Mainor was forced from her political party in large part because she refused to toe the line on what should be a bipartisan issue — and an issue that clearly is viewed as bipartisan among the electorate in general.

    A poll found widespread support for school choice even among Democrats — to the tune of 66%.

    A poll found widespread support for school choice even among Democrats — to the tune of 66%.

    It’s an issue that helps students like Aiden, a young man with special needs who wasn’t getting the specialized education he needed in local public schools in Cobb County. The answer came through a specialized private school in Atlanta. Or the story of Hudson, another student with special needs whose life was transformed by access to an alternative education option.

    We commend Mainor for her bravery and integrity as we build a future where every child has access to an excellent education.

    Talk To An Expert

    About The Author

    David Bass

    Press Manager

    David Bass is a journalist and communications professional with nearly two decades of experience in the world of PR, marketing, and publications.

    Georgia news, in the news, current events, Georgia happenings, GA happenings

    n a recent announcement, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp revealed that the state will distribute over $83.5 million in federal COVID-19 relief funds as grants for 118 public safety projects across Georgia.

    The aim of these grants is to bolster law enforcement staffing, support initiatives to reduce violent crime, invest in technology and equipment, and address personnel shortages stemming from the pandemic.

    Kemp emphasized the significance of the grants in a statement following the decision. “Public safety has always been a top priority of my administration and will continue to be,” he said.

    He further highlighted the need to provide resources for law enforcement agencies to combat surging crime.

    Read the full article here

     

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