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Juvenile Judge Discusses Position B> Palo Whiten You hoar aUuil il on tho radio and TV and road about it in tho daily newspaper as well as in the Progress- Arcus "Youths Arrostod for Bur glary; .luvenilos Charged with Breaking and Enter ing." Tho headlines are fami liar; tho problem is a growing one Statistics have shown that crime among teenagers has increased in recent years. Though not of unmanage able proportions in Butts County, the problem of juvenile crime does exist. Following is an interview with Richard Watkins, juve nile judge for Butts and Lamar counties. This court handles cases involving offenders under 17 years of age. Watkins was appointed to the position in April. 1976 and here he talks about what causes a juvenile to break the law. what happens to him if he does, and the jurisdiction of his court. What effect does a child's home environment have on his becoming a juvenile delinquent? It seems to me most of these juvenile offenders come out of homes that are either too lenient or homes in which one of the parents may be overly strict and punishes the child with undue severity for the least infraction. The lenient parent refuses to condemn the thing the child did whereas the too strict parent reacts as if society will condemn him i the parent) for what his child did. The parent wants to "tear his child up" and he does, sometimes over small things, and then the child may deliberately go out and do what he wants to. How do economics and income level of a family apply to those juveniles who break the law? Often when both parents have to work and there's not much supervision over the children, perhaps they have the tendency to get into things more, especially if there's not an older child who can take responsibility for the younger ones. There is. of course, some delinquency in all classes and income brackets, but probably the lower income families have more prob lems. and it’s probably because of the necessity that the parents work and be away from home. However, delinquency cuts across all levels and it seems to me it’s more a question of how much care and love the family gives a child that deters him more than anything else. What is the jurisdiction of juvenile court? A juvenile judge has jurisdiction over delinquent and unruly children under the age of 17. Delinquent applies to child ren who have done something w rong. I mean children doing something of the nature which would be illegal. Unruly children are status offenders—children who are in court because of having done something wrong be cause they are the age they are, such as running away from home that wouldn’t be an offense for you or me, but it. is for a child because of his age. If a juvenile has committed a felony or misdemeanor, he might, come before me before he goes to a higher court, except, m the case of capital felonies. We also have jurisdiction over deprived children. These are children who are in circumstances where they're not being cared for properly Do you hear child abuse cases? I do get child abuse rases I’ve had a lew in hiitt.s (.'purity where a parent was alleged to have abused a child I haven't had :>o many, as I think back, in which a parent •war. doing, the abusing, but in case:. I can remember, the mother y/ould b<- separated l >^^4 s^^^^^’?§.'^'?^^", t. \ J" ’>'s' t" | " ' ^ > S^’ /^&v- M '/ - ! <f' m#; '|i |yß* jk RICHARD WATKINS. JUVENILE JUDGE FOR BUTTS AND LAMAR COUNTIES or divorced from her husband, who is the father, and she might have a boyfriend living in the home and he was abusing the child. But the mother was there and she was permitting it to happen and at least tem porary custody was removed from the mother. What other kinds of cases come before you? I've had pretty much all types of cases. We've tried children for such things as burglary and handling drugs. Some have been sent to Youth Development Centers tYDC). There are four in Georgia: Milledgeville, At lanta. Augusta and Macon. What do the centers attempt to do? The emphasis there, as during the court proceedings, is on rehabilitation. Young people in these centers have an opportunity to learn a trade and go to school. Probably the biggest prob lem is there aren't enough of those places and the centers are not able to keep these kids as long as would be most beneficial to get them turned in the right direction. The children were prob ably not getting the kind of discipline they need at home and were not taking advan ■ SALE JUNIOR TOPS W • Assorted styles and fabrics • Sizes S M L • Values to $4.99 s4*7 \\ nn GIRLS PANTIES • Sizes 2 to 14 • Assorted Styles • Values to 69 A/It Ti * " I SUPER CLEARANCE , • Sizes sto 24% $ JLB4 Reg $14.99 now O s©B6 • Reg $16.99 now W $1167 r=A~ ~ m = BLANKETS • Fits Twin or Full • Solid Colors • Reg. $5.99 s3r - SUEDE LEATHER CASUAL Jfefk SHOES • Natural or Black Suede Men's sizes 7to 12 , .. .. _ * tl . M Lo*es Sizes sto 10 Hi Top Reg. $10.99 Oxford Reg. $9.99 oxford Re 9- 58 99 Your choice your choice SJBS s£B4 the JACKSON FKOGRESS-ARCUS, JACKSON. GEORGIA tage of schooling and training. In the centers they are more or less made to attend school and are disciplined much better than they are at home and undoubtedly it's beneficial. However, some of the children don't benefit from the centers, and some have come back before my court. Even those who haven’t, I get reports they haven't actually been caught in the act of doing something illegal so I'm sure some are not totally rehabilitated. Is the age of juvenile offenders dropping—are more younger kids breaking the law? I haven't noticed any perceptible drop in the age of those juveniles who break the law. I handle some cases of 13-14 year olds but also many around age 16, and I haven’t noticed any great difference. I understand that statisti cally a . large proportion of criminal cases are commit ted by juveniles under 17. What kind of dispositions can you make in a case? I can put an offender on probation or back in the care of his parents to be supervised by a court service worker or the offender can be put in detention for a definite FAMOUS BRAND _ ' LADIES JEANS A • Denims and twills • Many styles • Sizes 3 to 13 HL Values to $19.99 IV $1497 91 As low os ■ j S'LON CIRE JACKETS With HOODS • Sizes S-M-L • Reg. $8.99 3^^ TEEN BRAS • Asst. Styles and Colors • Sizes 28 to 34 AA Cups s|39 - / Men # s Short Sleeve J| SPORT SHIRTS * Assorted Solids and Prints JrA * Sizes S/XL and 141/2/17 I% ' uiSM l' 8$ • Values to $5.00 Speda |s 3 9T ,. GIRLS PANTS {0 • Sizes 2 to 14 /3Tj • Unbelieveable Selection BFy| • Values to $5.99 U ■§ s2*7 J 1 l jSMHBt) period and then back in the care of his parents and supervision of. a court service worker. In addition, I can turn the offender over to the Department of Human Re sources and recommend that he be sent to a Youth Development Center. What is your philosophy of juvenile court? To try to get the child turned in the right direction and whatever I think is best for that purpose, that’s what I try to do. If the crime is serious, sending the child to a YDC is about the most severe thing at my command, and I only hope they can turn him around and try to get him to become a productive person. Sometimes I think a little punishment may be the way to turn these kids around and very often on first offenses I send them to the child detention center in Clayton County which is where we send children pending a hearing or for punishment after a hearing. And often I’ve sent them up there for at least 10 days just to show them the seriousness of what they’ve done even though it may be a first offense. How do you feel about being a juvenile judge? State’s Work With Youths Told Kiwanis Kiwaniuns lasi Tuesday evening heard of Hie State’s concern for, and method of dealing with, youthful offend ers. Two slaff members of Ihe Youth Services Division of the Georgia Department of Human Resources brought the program. Rudy Wyatt, Court Ser vices representative for the !Griffin and Flint Judicial 'Circuits, and lairry Fletcher, Court Service worker, re viewed the Stale’s programs in this field and showed a film to graphically illustrate the types of services offered. According to Wyatt, the program’s main thrust is aimed at helping the errant child in his home environ ment where a year’s supervi sion cost only $l9O a year, as compared to $19,000 a year It’s not the easiest job, but I feel it’s a job where I’m being useful and my present intention is to finish out my term in both counties which runs until about 1980. LOOKING FOR Sold, Servi"~d ana installed by Cook's Machine & Lock Service 124 W. 2nd St. 775-4240 This card opens the door to twelve very practical banking services. 24 hours a day. 7 days a week. If you've filed your card away dust it off. It’s too useful to forget. Don’t have a card? Stop by. It's a banking service we extend to all our checking and sav ings customers. The Citizens and Southern Bank of Jackson . mi:mmi K in 11\ THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER I. 1977 for institutional care The Youth Services Divi sion of Ihe Dept, of Human Resources was created in 1907 to deal with the growning problem of youth ful offenders in the criminal system. Sam Freeman, of the Butts County Farm Bureau, was welcomed as anew member and will Ik- inducted later. Rev. David Beville, pastor of the Jackson Presbyterian Church, was a guest of the Club. Members of the Covington Kiwanis Club making an inter-club visit were Ed Hunt, present divisional LI. Gov. of Kiwanis Internation al, Rev. Jack Elston, Lee Payne and Sammy Osborne. LI. Gov. elect Jack Smith, of the Griffin Kiwanis Club, was welcomed as a guest. The Jackson Kiwanis Club is leading all Division clubs in attendance to date, with an average of over 97 per cent, President Doug Durrett advised. Jack Little, general chair man of the Club’s Radio Day program, slated for Septem ber kith on WJGA, reported much progress in the sale of advertising. Members of the Club will actually man the WJGA microphones for the entire day The project is one of the Club’s biggest money makers and helps finance much of its charitable work Legend has it that a horseshoe nailed to a house door is a protection against witches. PUBLIC AUCTION R. L. Swearingen, Sr. Estate Liquidation and R. L. Swearingen, Jr. Dispersal Wednesday, September 7, 1977 at the farm located one mile south of Reynolds, Ga. on Ga. 128 9:00 A.M. Belling complete line of farm anfl cattle equipment including trucks and tractors. 10:00 A.M. Selling 500 registered polled hereford cattle. Public Welcome For further details contact: R. L. SWEARINGEN, JR. Box 247 Reynolds, G. 31076 (912) 847-3535 Day ((912) 847-3167 Night THE ADVENTURES OF Tom O’Dell At a chess tournament, he’s just V another steel trap mind who ** — always wins. But at the store, / * x he is .. . SUPERSCRIPTION. / \ With his scientific knowledge, / >s yek even Einstein called for his ff \ * a-V y \ opinion ... you all know Charlie if * /\’l Einstein in Greenville. / ■*—f V ■W r" \\^ DAY PHONE 775-7812 ' NIGHT PHONE 775-7414 W PRESCRIPTION DRUGGIST®' JACKSON, GA. Storing Bread Lube stale bread arid store it in the freezer It’s just, right for stuffings, bread puddings arid croutons, and can be rolled finer for bread crumbs