City’s ‘Saggy Pants Ban’ Pays Off in First 10 Months

In its first ten months of existence, Albany, Ga.’s ban on saggy pants has netted the city nearly $4,000 in fines.

The city’s “Public Indecency Prohibited” ordinance has lead to more than 180 citations since being enacted in November of last year, according to a story in the Albany Herald, with police averaging 20 or so citations a month. At the current rate the city could see an additional $1,500 in revenue before year’s end.

While violators cannot be arrested under they law, they can expect to pay a fine between $25 and $200 depending on their number of infractions of the law.

The ordinance bans the wearing of pants and skirts more than three inches below the hip line. The ordinance also allows the offender to complete 40 hours of community service in lieu of paying the fines.

Albany passed its ban on the heels of Dublin, Ga.’s controversial ordinance earlier in 2010. But the relatively small southern cities aren’t alone in their fight against fashion. A number of other municipalities around the state and around the nation have introduced similar restrictions, or are considering them.

Albany, with a population of little more than 75,000, according to the 2010 Census, is the state's ninth largest city and located about 175 miles south of Atlanta.

2 thoughts on “City’s ‘Saggy Pants Ban’ Pays Off in First 10 Months

  1. Dear america. We have a new threat to our existence. We no longer have to worry about terrorist, crime, big brother, or the jobless rate. We should not be concerned with education, or the crooked politics that are high jacking the american way, or child protection laws. No I say we should not worry about any of these thing, rather there is a much greater threat on the horizon. An issue that must be addressed immediately. An issue that can not continue.
    So america let us meet in city hall, let us call our legislators, and our commander in chief. This is an issue that must not, and can not wait…
    Please tell our fearless leaders that wearing pants around the ankle is destroying the american way of life, corrupting our youth. Call the army, call the navy, call the national guard. we must attack, and we must attack now. No linger will we stand for people who want to wear there pants around their ankles. We must destroy this threat immediately, because it is a matter of national importance, and the fate of the free world depends on how we police people with saggy pants.
    We must do this for our country, lets kill all saggy pant wearers. the fate of the free world depends on it.

  2. This law is ridiculous. And the fact that they raised that much money is like a regressive tax, since we all know that most the offenders are not rich people. It is upper/middle class social norms written into the law and cited as legitimate. Personally, I’d much rather see Hawaiian shirts and pleated pants outlawed.