Police Arrest Detention Center Director

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The director of the Aaron Cohn Regional Youth Detention Center in Columbus, Ga. was arrested on Sunday for gambling, which is a misdemeanor. Police arrested Jimmie Lee Hooks III and 14 others at a Columbus beauty shop where they were found playing poker for money. Police also found crack cocaine and illegal alcohol sales and charged the owner of the shop with additional crimes. Hooks has been with the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice since January 2001 and became director of the Center in March 2010, according to Scheree Moore, the department’s director of communications.

DJJ Unveils Severe Budget Cuts: Is There A Silver Lining?

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By Chandra R. Thomas

Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice Board members say there’s possibly a silver lining to the proposed 2011 budget cuts released today. They say despite the many challenges the cuts raise, there’s great potential for positive outcomes from the reductions recently mandated by Governor Sonny Perdue, but they’re mostly contingent on legislative support. Board members unanimously passed Deputy Commissioner Jeff Minor’s suggested budget changes Thursday during a meeting at the department’s Decatur headquarters. The reductions, some say, could ultimately force Georgia leaders – from the governor to state legislators – to reassess which young people get locked up and for how long. Such changes could eventually reduce the number of low-risk children being held in youth detention centers.