Muscogee County Jail

The Muscogee County Sheriff's Office County Jail opened in December 2002. The cost to construct the new Jail was approximately $17 million. The facility is located next to the old Muscogee County Jail Complex. Construction of the County Jail began in 1999. The new facility was funded by revenue bonds.

The County Jail contains 24 new cellblocks in addition to the 12 cellblocks in the old jail section, these include special management cells and isolation cells for the close custody inmates. The Administration Section has been expanded and there is a new intake section and visitation section. New and improved security measures have been installed as well. The new building contains a larger medical facility. There are more clinic cells and beds near the clinic. Due to the design of interior outside yards, inmates no longer utilize the exterior outside yards. The new facility houses the Sheriff's Identification Section, where fingerprinting and classification are provided for all of the law enforcement agencies for all Muscogee County inmates. The 1939 Jail facility is no longer used to house inmates. Instead, it is used for storage space, quartermaster, and administrative offices.


Inmate Money Accounts »

Available Programs at the County Jail

Fatherhood Dorm: Fathers who reconnect with their families while incarcerated have a 50% less chance of returning to jail. We created the Fatherhood dorm to teach men how to be better parents and to accept responsibility for their children's futures. Civic, governmental, and faith community leaders teach the men how to be good fathers and role models. The Columbus Library's Children's Department teaches the men how to teach their children to read. Our goal is for the men to not return, and their children break the generational cycle of incarceration.

Veterans Dorm: Who more than Veterans of America's Armed Forces deserve a second chance at life? We opened the Veterans dorm in the jail to focus on the issues that Vets experience. PTSD and substance abuse are the main reasons we see Vets coming to jail. We offer programming to address these challenges and resources to assist them when they get released to successfully transition back into the community.

Inmate programs in the Muscogee County Jail are focused on providing the inmate necessary tools to successfully reintegrate back into the community once they are released. The Muscogee County Jail partners with many community organizations to provide a variety of education and life-skills programs in the jail.

Data indicates that jail programs decrease incidents of inmate on inmate and inmate on staff violence. Providing inmate programs is a tool for the jail staff to use to decrease inmate conflict and violence within the jail, because inmate participation is only approved for those with good behavior history. Programs within the Muscogee County Jail are available for most inmates; however priority is generally given to those who will be released back into our local community. The following programs are currently available at the Muscogee County Jail:

  • Religious Programming
    • Assistant Chaplains (to provide coverage throughout facility)
    • Sunday Church
    • Islamic Taleem Service
    • Spanish Church
  • Special Programs
    • Faith based recovery for men and women
    • GED for men and women
    • Fatherhood (partner with Muscogee County Library)
    • Veterans (In partnership with the GA. Department of Veterans Affairs and the GA. Department of Labor)
    • Behavior
    • Literacy
  • Re-Entry Programming
  • Substance Abuse
    • AA (men, women, Veterans, Recovery Dorms
    • NA
    • Addicts at the Cross
    • Celebrate Recovery
    • Teen Challenge
    • Recovery through Christ

The Muscogee County Jail is also fortunate to have a full-time Chaplain on staff. Our Chaplain visits with inmates of all faiths and coordinates a substantial number of faith-based volunteers. Since its inception, our Chaplain Program has greatly reduced tension and conflict within the facility. Our Chaplain is supported by the contributions of many local congregations to whom we are eternally grateful.

Administrative Bureau

The Administrative Bureau includes the Training Bureau, Human Resources, Budget/Finance, Office of Professional Standards, Credentialing, Community Relations and the Criminal and Civil Administrative Sections. The Administrative Bureau works as a hub for the Sheriff's Office. All incoming civil process and criminal warrants are received and processed through the Administrative Bureau. This Bureau also provides administrative support to the various bureaus within the Sheriff's Office.


Court and Uniform Services Bureau

Uniform Patrol Bureau
The Uniform Patrol Bureau provides continuous patrol services for the citizens and government of Muscogee County, Georgia, and ensures the vital support needs of all bureaus of the Muscogee County Sheriff's Office are met. Duties and responsibilities of this section are the following, but are not limited to: service of civil processes and orders, criminal warrants, prisoner transport, extraditions, emergency first responders, sex offender monitoring and enforcement, traffic enforcement and investigation, communications and dispatch, security and executive protection of officials and government infra-structure.

Courts Bureau
The Court Bureau is responsible for providing service and protection to seven Superior Courts, two State Courts, one Magistrate Court, one Probate Court, and one Juvenile Court.


Training and Special Projects Bureau

The Training Bureau is responsible for providing training for over 400 Law Enforcement, Civilian and Reserve employees of the Sheriff's Office. The Training Section provides both basic and advanced training courses to ensure all sworn personnel meet the required Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) training hours. The Training Bureau also trains citizens of Muscogee County in the Citizen Emergency Response Team program and other Columbus Consolidated Government employees in the Floor Leader program. These programs prepare non-public safety individuals for both man-made and natural disasters. The Training Bureau also provides training to our citizens in the Refuse to Be A Victim Seminar, and the Civilian Firearms Course. Questions can be submitted to our training email address MCSOTraining@columbusga.org.


Special Operations Bureau

Criminal Investigations / Felony Apprehension / Intelligence Bureau
The Criminal Investigative / Felony Apprehension Units are responsible for providing Investigative and Fugitive apprehension services for Muscogee County, Georgia. Other responsibilities of this unit include but are not limited to the following: participation in the Columbus, Georgia United States Marshal's Office Ad Hoc Fugitive Task Force, assisting the Metro Narcotics Task Force, assisting all Federal and State Agencies, providing investigative assistance to the District Attorney's Office, conducting criminal internal investigations, proactive crime control functions, executive and dignitary protection.

Special Operations
Special Operations consists of specialized teams that perform specific functions within the Muscogee County Sheriff's Office. All specialized teams are full-service response Units that meet minimum level II standards under the National Incident Management Resource Typing System. Our canine services are inclusive of a Patrol/Narcotics Canine as well as an Explosive/Firearms Canine.

Specialized Teams:

  • Special Response Team (S.R.T.)
  • Hazardous Device Response Team
  • Canine Team
  • Metro Tactical Medics
  • Forward Observers
  • Hostage/Crisis Negotiations

Mobile Command Units and Strike Team
The Muscogee County Sheriff's Office Operations Bureau, under the direction of the Sheriff and Chief Deputy, is resourced with a state-of-the-art Mobile Command Unit and Mobile personnel Unit. The Mobile Command Unit is equipped with the latest satellite communications capability to include inter-operating most any type of communication used by various public safety agencies nationally. The Mobile Command Unit is staffed by a highly trained strike team of ten personnel who are ready for deployment at a moment's notice. The Mobile Command Unit's call sign is the “Guardian” and has been planned and designed to sustain business continuity in the event our infrastructure is ever compromised especially regarding the operations of the Muscogee County Jail that houses over an average of 1,000 inmates on a daily basis.