Albany Declares War Against Saggy Pants

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Police in Albany, Ga may soon be going after kids with saggy, baggy, droopy pants. The first draft of an ordinance called “Public Indecency Prohibited” was introduced to the City Commission on Tuesday to replace another law called the “Defecation in Public” statute (yes, that’s defecation). According to the Albany Herald, this ordinance prohibits people from wearing pants or skirts more than three inches below the tops of the hips and exposing any skin or underwear below. It’s patterned after a similar ordinance passed last month by the folks in Dublin, Ga, 120 miles up the road. Aside from banning saggy pants, the law would also ban people from performing certain acts in public, such as nudity, masturbation and sex.

Apple Patents Anti-Sexting App

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Parents will soon have a new tool to prevent their kids from sexting on an iPhone.  Apple has created a text blocker to filter out certain explicit language, including abbreviated words that other similar programs may miss, according to CNN. The patent document actually says:
If the control contains unauthorized text, the control application may alert the user, the administrator or other designated individuals of the presence of such text. The control application may require the user to replace the unauthorized text or may automatically delete the text or the entire communication. A blogger at Tech Crunch points out that people who really want to send salacious messages will invent workarounds that don’t set off the censors.  And oh, by the way, the patent addresses only words, not photos.  So this won’t be the end of sexting, but it may be a step.

Marietta Police Produce Video on Bullying

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The Marietta Police Department and the City School system have created an eight-minute video with advice for parents on bullying.  The first recommendation may be the most important: good communication between parents and kids. Police officers also outline how families can identify the signs of bullying, how parents should report bullying, what schools are required to do, and what actions police may take. Click here to watch the video

Click here to see more crime prevention videos from the Marietta Police Department.

Family of Roy Barnes Hit by Teen Driver

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A 17 year old boy is in critical condition after a crash that also injured the grandchildren of gubernatorial candidate Roy Barnes.  The teen, who was driving a Porsche Boxster, apparently swerved into oncoming traffic.  Cobb Police say he hit a minivan carrying the former governor's daughter, Allison Barnes Salter, and her two children. The crash happened Sunday afternoon on Old Mountain Road near Marietta. Barnes’ two granddaughters, who are 4 and 7 years old, are both hospitalized, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Also hospitalized is a 16 year old, who was riding in the Porsche. Police believe the teens were speeding, but the investigation is ongoing.

Judge Hatchett Brings Juvenile Justice Message To Atlanta Twice This Month

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Judge Glenda Hatchet is most widely known for her nationally-syndicated television show, but many people don’t know that before she claimed fame on the tube, she served as Chief Presiding Judge of Atlanta’s Fulton County Juvenile Court. Over the years the former senior attorney for Delta Air Lines and Emory University School of Law alumna, has built up quite a reputation as a passionate advocate for parents, children and families.  The author and in-demand speaker is scheduled to take her expertise and no-nonsense commentary to metro Atlanta  audiences twice this month during addresses October 16 and October 28.  It's no surprise that  Hatchett has a lot to say about the juvenile justice system. She spoke to JJIE.org’s Chandra Thomas about an array of issues, including her concerns about Georgia’s system, why fighting truancy matters and the focus of her new book. What do you consider the number one juvenile justice issue in Georgia? Hands down it would be the lack of resources.

Jailed Kids Drugged Without Diagnosis

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Kids behind bars in American juvenile facilities are getting anti-psychotic drugs intended for bipolar or schizophrenic patients, even when they haven’t been diagnosed with either disorder, according to a year-long investigation by Youth Today. Even in cases when diagnoses are made for such disorders, some experts believe those diagnoses are rooted in convenience rather than the medical evidence. “Critics believe most of these diagnoses are simply a cover for the fact that prisons now use drugs as a substitute for banned physical restraints that once were used on juveniles who aggressively acted out,” Youth Today points out. The findings come from state juvenile systems that provided in-depth information on their use of the drugs. Only 16 states responded to a nationwide survey by Youth Today.

Push for Harassed LGBT Kids to Take Action

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There’s a new campaign that focuses on empowering lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered students, as well as their supporters, to report incidents of bullying, harassment or discrimination to the Office for Civil Rights at the U.S. Education Department. Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays has partnered with the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network to launch the Claim Your Rights campaign, which revealed some alarming statistics:

Approximately 85 percent of high school students report being harassed in school because of their real or perceived sexual orientation … and only 18 percent of LGBT students report their schools have policies [that] offer comprehensive protections. The campaign provides detailed information on how to file a report, as well as an easy to print fact sheet. To further check out the campaign, click here. To access the fact sheet, click here.

Helping Kids Achieve in Acworth

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The City of Acworth, GA.,  is supporting a program called the Acworth Achievers. Five years ago, Acworth identified a concern about at-risk kids within the city limits and began developing a program. The goal of this program is to help middle and high school children make better decisions through after-school and mentoring programs.

“This will offer more opportunities and give kids better decision making skills so they can become productive adults,” Frank White, the Director of Acworth Achievers and the Recreation Coordinator for Acworth Parks and Recreation said. “It’s about inspiring kids to be the very best that they can be,” Mayor Tommy Allegood said. Click below to hear more from Mayor Allegood about the Acworth Achievers.

Social Host Ordinance May Hold Parents Accountable for Teen Drinking

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If a young person under 21 drinks on your property, you could be legally responsible even if you didn’t provide the alcohol under a new social host ordinance proposed by the Cobb Alcohol Taskforce. The Taskforce is making a presentation at the Cobb Municipal Association meeting on October 12 to propose that jurisdictions adopt social host ordinances. They hope to target Cobb County and six cities including Acworth, Austell, Kennesaw, Marietta, Powder Springs, and Smyrna. “The community has been pretty good about holding kids fairly accountable for underage drinking,” said Cathy Fink, the Cobb Alcohol Taskforce coordinator. “Private parties are the primary source of underage drinking and the community is having trouble holding adults accountable for providing places for minors to drink.”

Under current law, police can charge underage drinkers with possession or consumption of alcohol and an adult can be charged with furnishing alcohol to a minor.

Kids – Not Parents – Get to Call the Shots in Court Under New Code

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Parents are not always the best advocates for children charged with crimes. In fact, parents may be uninvolved, absent, or even hostile, experts told state senators as they discussed proposed changes to Georgia’s juvenile code. Some of those experts were young people who’ve been through the juvenile justice system. They are identified by first names only:

Giovan, 20, was only 11 months old when he entered foster care. By 12, he was also in the juvenile justice system, declared unruly for cursing at foster parents he says repeatedly told him he was worth nothing.