Spalding County Correctional Institution

The original Spalding County Correction Institute (C.I.) began as a “work camp” in 1952 on the site of the present day Spalding County Public Works Department, just down the road from our present location which was built in 2001. The Spalding County Correctional Institution (SCCI), serves to meet the workforce needs of local governments while fulfilling a contractual obligation to the Georgia Department of Corrections by providing safe and secure housing for approximately 384 inmates in compliance with all applicable policies and procedures. We are governed by the Spalding County Board of Commissioners thru the County Manager and also by the standard operating procedures of the Georgia Department of Corrections.

There are approximately 65 inmate details with about 320 medium or minimum security state inmates assigned to work outside of the prison for a variety of local government departments as well as several in other nearby jurisdictions. Some of these departments include Public Works, Water Authority, Parks and Recreation, Animal Control, Construction and Maintenance, Griffin-Spalding County School System, Georgia State Patrol posts in Griffin and Thomaston, Ga., Georgia Department of Corrections Mobile Construction Division, Griffin Police Department, Griffin City Cemetery, City Water Department, City Motor Pool, City of Thomaston Public Works, Henry County Public Works and Fayette County Public Works. The majority of these “outside” work details are responsible for cutting grass and picking up trash on county roads, fixing or replacing road signs on county roads, laying asphalt, repairing some bridges, digging and cleaning out ditches, preparing ball fields, keeping local parks clean, working in the automotive and maintenance shops and providing janitorial services to many local government buildings. Another 55-60 inmates are assigned to “inside” details such as the laundry, kitchen, barber shop and dorm orderlies.

State inmates at a county camp will almost always be within a few months or years of their release from prison. To that end, the Georgia Parole Board places requirements on inmates about certain classes and groups that they either must attend to satisfy some parole requirements or that they can elect to attend in order to help themselves. SCCI offers the following classes for inmates: G.E.D. preparation classes, a required class known as MRT, which stands for Moral Reconation Theory; Re­ entry skills classes, Motivation for Change and a computer lab. Religious services are also available for all inmates.