SOUTH FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — A community all-too familiar with juvenile crime all has taken a small step to try to stop it in its tracks.
Gang issues, drive-by shootings, even murder are nothing new to the south Fulton County area. But during a Monday night town hall with residents of South Fulton County, Councilwoman Helen Willis proposed a new, and unconventional method to fight back.
During the Monday meeting, Willis announced she's proposing legislation to punish parents of repeat criminal offenders with fines, even jail time, if their kids commit crimes and they've either helped them or have done nothing to stop it.
MORE | Read the full ordinance here
Willis, who is working with law enforcement and other legal departments to craft legislation, said the proposal is not about "locking parents up." Rather, it's about holding them accountable.
One resident 11Alive spoke to agreed: “Parents are coming into school with pajamas on, they smoking weed with the kids, these kids got drug problems. You all need to talk to the parents to find out some solutions."
Leaders say the ordinance cites state law, but here's how the program would work: A pre-trial diversion program would follow the first offense. The second offense is where fines, community service, even jail time, would come in.
Residents in South Fulton got the chance to weigh in on the idea during the meeting, and surprisingly, a majority of South Fulton residents were open to the idea.
“We need judges to stop being lenient and apathetic to juvenile crime,” one resident told 11Alive.
11Alive's Chris Hopper was at the Monday night meeting and reports more than 60 percent of people surveyed agreed with the proposed ordinance: "You have to create your village," one woman said during the meeting.
Unsurprisingly, though, the proposal was met with some resistance.
"You haven’t even given programs to even help the kids, but you’re talking about locking them up before helping them or the parents before helping them," another resident pushed back. "You’ve got the people in this city.”
Regardless of whether residents think the idea is the right or wrong way to deal with crime, South Fulton Mayor Bill Edwards commended Willis for taking on the issue.
However, if there's one thing that's come of the meeting is that it's started a conversation, one that officials hope will keep a dialogue open to hopefully make progress in curbing crime.
