Over the course of the project, the UGA research team conducted research in partnership with seven rural jurisdictions in order to:
- Gather and analyze administrative jail data (and, if possible, data from other justice and social services agencies) from select rural counties throughout Georgia to answer questions such as:
- How pretrial decision-making and practices, including arrest, charging, and bail, affect the jail population (including admissions and length of stay);
- How case processing, sentencing and supervision practices affect the jail population (including admissions and length of stay);
- How jail beds are used (e.g. misdemeanors, felonies, probation violations, contracts with other agencies)
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Build knowledge of specific local criminal justice issues – especially factors affecting jail population trends – facing rural counties through data analysis and conversations with local prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, law enforcement, and other county representatives
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Share lessons from research and data analysis with local representatives and stakeholders.
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Convene representatives from rural counties for roundtable discussions.