NCJ Number
80214
Date Published
1980
Length
52 pages
Annotation
Based on public hearings and research into local crime control programs, this report from a Georgia legislature subcommittee examines recent increases in crime as well as problems in the criminal justice system and recommends preventive measures.
Abstract
Although the subcommittee found a pervasive fear of crime throughout the State and poor coordination among various components of the criminal justice system, it believes that the problem is controllable. However, changes in social attitudes as well as government action are necessary. The subcommittee's investigation found no evidence that the black community was any more willing to tolerate criminal activity than any other group of citizens. This report first describes the committee's findings regarding drug trafficking, alcohol abuse, crimes against persons, and crimes against property. Drug trafficking has increased at an alarming rate because Florida's stringent laws have driven major drug dealers into Georgia, but no identifiable reasons were found for the dramatic increase in violent crime during 1979. Property crimes also rose, although one city with a neighborhood watch program was able to reduce its burglary rate. Georgia's criminal justice planning efforts have improved over the last decade, but testimony revealed that planning and policy activities among individual agencies were poorly coordinated. The committee also discovered a serious fragmentation of criminal justice information services, such as the absence of a central repository for criminal justice system data. Citizens testifying before the subcommittee felt that police officers should be better educated, more professional, and better paid. Chief concerns of law enforcement officers were compensation and the reliability of support services. All evidence indicated that the courts were ill-prepared to cope with existing caseloads and that administrative restructuring was needed. Other problem areas were sentencing disparities, career criminal prosecutions, and failure to prosecute drunk driving charges and handgun violations. An examination of correctional institutions focused on overcrowded prisons, inadequate juvenile rehabilitation efforts, inequities in the earned time system and good time statute, and substandard jail conditions. Over 50 recommendations for the General Assembly are outlined. Charts compare changes in crime rates between 1978 and 1979 for seven cities.