Families in Clayton County are outraged after paying for their loved ones to get out of jail and waiting days to see it happen.
Clayton County Sheriff’s Office said the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s technology failed last Wednesday, preventing Clayton County jail from processing people in a timely manner.
“I’m very worried,” Erica Redmond said Sunday evening. Her niece was jailed four days earlier, Wednesday, for an unpaid traffic violation. Redmond paid more than $4,000 to bail her out the same day, but deputies said no.
“The whole situation is just unbelievable to me,” Redmond added.
The Clayton County Sheriff’s Office said the technology allows deputies to ensure an inmate is not wanted in another county for a violent crime before releasing them.
“To keep the citizens of Clayton County safe and to prevent a violent incident in Clayton County, no inmates will be released until the GBI corrects this issue,” said Public Information Office Jamal Webb.
In a statement, GBI Spokesperson Nelly Miles wrote: “As of August 12, 2023, about 10:30 p.m., the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) has been restored. I can confirm that the AFIS system had an outage from Wednesday - Saturday. GCIC staff has been diligently working with the vendor, NEC, to correct this issue. We recognize this as a vital service for criminal justice agencies and have notified our users that the service has been restored.”
Sunday morning, the sheriff’s office wrote on its website:
“Clayton Citizens, no matter the day or hour, when the GBI fixes the issue with CCH Sheriff Levon Allen has already told his command to pay all employees emergency call back to get all inmates since Wednesday processed and released.”
By Sunday at 10:30 p.m., families in Clayton County were still waiting for loved ones to be released.
Channel 2 Action News is waiting for the Clayton County Sheriff’s Office to clarify the timeline and delay.
To see the sheriff’s office advisory posted Sunday, click here.