Researchers from the University of Georgia Rural Jails Research Hub analyzed jail roster data provided by sheriff’s offices from Decatur, Early, Greene, Habersham, Sumter, Towns, and Treutlen counties between January 2019 and June 2020. The Vera Institute of Justice, a New York-based group that advocates for ending mass incarceration, funded the grant for the UGA research and also published the findings last month. 

“Motor vehicle or traffic-related charges were the most frequent charges, often due to unpaid fines stemming from license suspensions rather than dangerous driving,” the UGA researchers found across the 7 counties. More than half of those charged were Black, the group said.  

Probation violations – without any new criminal accusations – made up 9% to 15% of all jail admissions, where probation violation was the sole or most serious offense, according to the Vera Institute. The findings also showed drug possession, users of drugs, outweighed drug trafficking, those who sell drugs, in terms of jail population, the study said.