ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labat and members of the Fulton County Sheriff's Office held a town hall at ENON Baptist Church to discuss the future of the Fulton County Jail and hear directly from community members.

One of the main topics was a proposed change to how misdemeanor offenders are processed at the jail.

 In 2025, nearly 3000 misdemeanors were brought up to the Fulton county jail from the city of Atlanta. We have actually found that many of those are domestic or some aggravated battery or some sort as well as mental health issues. So, we want to be thoughtful about that,  Labat said.

The town hall gave residents a chance to bring their concerns directly to Labat and the sheriff's office.

 Is there any way to increase the fines or maybe the top three or four misdemeanors and just increase the fines when someone is arrested for that?  one resident asked during the public comment portion of the event.

Rapper Yung Joc also attended the meeting and read questions submitted by the public online.

 What is the community doing as it relates to re-entry for individuals who have been incarcerated and served their jail time to also include homeless individuals and sex offenders?  Joc read.

Labat said community feedback is an important part of the process.

 It is important for the community to have a voice, and we want to make sure we hear what that is and better understand what that looks like,  Labat said.

No official decision has been made. If jail officials decide to stop taking some misdemeanor offenders, Labat said the change would not happen all at once. Instead, officials would move forward strategically with a plan in place.

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