By Rhonda Cook

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The Fulton County Jail continues to fall short of court-mandated improvements, according to a report from the expert assigned to monitor progress at the lockup for the federal court.

Jail expert Calvin Lighfoot wrote in a quarterly report to U.S. District Judge Marvin Shoob that Sheriff Ted Jackson, who took office on Jan. 1, is making progress, but many of the persistent problems continue.

The jail still does not meet all the requirements of a consent order signed in early 2005 to settle a federal lawsuit brought because the jail was crowded, dirty and dangerous.

Overpopulation continues to be the root of the jail’s problem, Shoob has noted. Shoob could find the county, the Sheriff's Office or individuals in contempt of court and that could be fines or possibly jail time if the consent order is not met.

A crowded jail requires more staff . Crowding also can delay inmate releases, leaving them locked up long after they were ordered freed or after they have posted bond. Crowding also puts pressures on the building, causing systems to wear out faster; the county is spending about $60 million to make major renovations to the jail’s plumbing, electrical, heating and cooling systems.

“There are a lot of positive points in the report and the chief jailer and his staff continue to make progress,” said Tracy Flanagan, spokeswoman for the sheriff, who is responsible for the jail.

Lightfoot recommended in his 12th report, issued on Tuesday, that Fulton County buy Atlanta’s  empty city jail, an option that is being discussed. He also wrote in the report that another “facility” needed to be built on jail property on Rice Street in northwest Atlanta.

Lightfoot wrote that staffing and inmate population issues have been managed with some difficulty during the renovations because hundreds of inmates have been sent to rented beds in other jails

One floor – with beds for 408 inmates -- remains free of inmates, which means the temporary cap is 1,840. Lightfoot wrote he found as many as 170 inmates too many in the jail on a visit in late August.

On Tuesday, there were 1,974. The Sheriff's Office did not have the count for Wednesday.

Once the renovation is completed in November and the jail is again fully populated, Lightfoot said, it will be difficult to keep the number of inmates below the judge's 2,250 inmate cap.

And crowding will be compounded as county growth leads to more inmates, Lightfoot wrote.

At the same time, Lightfoot wrote, the staffing level at the jail will not change even as the inmate population increases.

The order requires at least three guards at all times in each of the jail's 13 cell blocks. In addition, there must be a tower guard in each cell block and one supervisor for each of the seven floors.

Lightfoot said he expected the Sheriff's Office will have to continue depending on overtime to staff the jail until the county provides money for more hires.