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DA tells Buckhead residents
juvenile justice reforms may
affect burglaries
Bf DAN WHISENHUNT
danwhisenhunt@reporternewspapers.net
Juveniles skipping school commit
half the burglaries in Fulton County,
and recent juvenile justice reforms may
add to the problem, Fulton County Dis
trict Attorney Paul Howard said.
State Rep. Wen
dell Willard, R-San-
dy Springs, sponsored
the reform bill and said
it gives police officers
and prosecutors more
time to prepare for the
changes. The bill awaits
Gov. Nathan Deal’s sig
nature.
Howard said at the
April 11 Buckhead
Council of Neighbor
hoods meeting that
changes to the state’s
juvenile justice code
leave police officers
with no place to keep
juvenile offenders after
they are arrested. Dur
ing the meeting, How
ard said that, in spite
of a good track record
cracking down on bur-
glaries, there has been a
recent uptick, an increase of 1.6 percent
over last year.
Howard said police Atlanta Chief
George Turner attributes the increase to
gang activity and Howard added, “48
percent of the burglaries in our county
are committed by juveniles when they
should be in school.”
“One of the things
you all might pay some
attention to: as you
know there is a new ju
venile code that’s been
put into effect,” How
ard said. “I think it goes
into effect July 1, and in
that new reorganization
of our juvenile system
... they’re supposed to
be put in community
centers.
“Now, there’s some
question about who’s
supposed to pay for
them, but right now
there are no communi
ty centers, so it’s going
to be really interesting
to see what is the effect
upon the burglary cases
in our community if there are juveniles
who commit the burglaries and there’s
not a place to put them or at least dis
courage them from that going forward.”
Willard said Howard was incorrect
about the date the law takes effect. He
said the law will go into effect Jan. 1,
“It’s going to be
really interesting to
see what is the effect
upon the burglary cases
in our community if
there are juveniles who
commit the burglaries
and there’s not a place
to put them, to at least
discourage them from
that going forward.”
- PAUL HOWARD
FULTON COUNTY
DISTRICT ATTORNEY
“We try to place
things before the court
as tools to better guide
them on ways to treat
the juveniles. Hopefully,
one thing we’re doing is
standardizing how courts
throughout the state will
treat juvenile cases.”
- REP. WENDELL WILLARD
R-SANDY SPRINGS
2014, not July 1, 2013. He also said that
there is money available for the centers,
and that cost savings will also go toward
implementing the reforms.
“We felt it maybe, time-wise, push
ing the envelope too
much to get everybody
educated and brought
up to speed as far as the
courts and attorneys in
juvenile practice,” Wil
lard said.
Willard said the gov
ernor’s budget propos
al includes $5 million
in seed money for the
community centers,
and the first centers will
be built in areas with
the highest juvenile de
tention rates.
“That’s beginning
money,” Willard said.
“We’ll start with those
areas. We’re not going
to be able to do every
program we would like
to do in the state at the
beginning.”
The intent of the law
is to make distinctions between juve
nile offenders who skip school and those
who commit more serious offenses. Wil
lard said the state spends around $240
a day locking up juveniles, but reforms
could bring the costs down to as low as
$30 a day.
So what happens
when a juvenile com
mits a burglary?
Willard said the bill
breaks down felonies
into two categories:
Class A, the more seri
ous offenses, and Class
B, the less serious of-
fenses. Armed robbery
would be a Class A felo
ny and burglary would
be a Class B, Willard
said.
Willard said every
juvenile arrested will
undergo a risk assess
ment to determine the
best course for them,
like a personal prescrip
tion for punishment.
Willard said district at
torneys will also have
input in the process.
“We try to place things before the
court as tools to better guide them on
ways to treat the juveniles,” Willard
said. “Hopefully, one thing we’re doing
is standardizing how courts throughout
the state will treat juvenile cases.”
4 | APRIL 19 —MAY2, 2013 | www.ReporterNewspapers.net
BH