athens-clarke-county
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Athens-Clarke County
All-Seeing Eyes: Surveillance Tech is Getting More Efficient
For some, it comforts them to know that if someone in their community commits a crime, police officers in the area could use the technology available to them to catch them. For others, advances in surveillance technology means that their privacy could be in danger. There are approximately 30…
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Athens-Clarke County
UGA Criminal Justice Program Changes Everything You Know About the ‘Typical’ Student
For spring 2019, 15 University of Georgia students spent their semester inside the Athens-Clarke County jail, but not as inmates. One by one, they walk through the Athens-Clarke County Jail metal detector, allowed to bring only a pen and class materials into the facility. The students empty their pockets, leaving…
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Athens-Clarke County
Pregnant Women in Georgia Face the Opioid Crisis
Georgia’s number of confirmed cases of Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome, a withdrawal condition babies may experience due to prenatal exposure to opioids, almost doubled from 2016 to 2017, according to a statewide Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome summary conducted by the Georgia Department of Public Health. Karen Kuehn Howell, assistant professor at…
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Athens-Clarke County
Jury Trials Fade as Plea Bargains Remain The Norm Both Locally and Nationally
The public defender’s office for Athens-Clarke and Oconee counties handles thousands of cases in a given year, but the overwhelming majority of those cases will never see the inside of a courtroom. Most cases are resolved through plea bargaining, a process in which the defendant agrees to plead guilty in…
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Athens-Clarke County
Athens Police Adopt New Software To Help Locate 911 Calls
A new computer software has the potential to allow the Athens-Clarke County Police Department to locate 9-1-1 callers more quickly and effectively. It’s called RapidSOS, and it was free for the department. Jonathan Jones, who works for Athens Police, said 90 percent of 9-1-1 calls come from cell phones, and…
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Athens-Clarke County
Athens-Clarke County Library Becomes First Trauma-Informed Library In Georgia
The Athens-Clarke County Library and the University of Georgia School of Social Work have been working together since October to transform the ACC Library into the first trauma-informed library in the state. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, staff in a trauma-informed library understand that trauma…
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Athens-Clarke County
Georgia Supreme Court: Refusing to Submit to DUI Test Can’t be Used in Trial
…Your refusal to submit to the required testing may be offered into evidence against you at trial. This is part of what drivers hear from officers while being read Georgia’s implied consent notice. Now, this statement will have to be reconsidered, after the Georgia Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional to…
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Athens-Clarke County
Athens-Clarke Attorney’s Office Allows Residents to File Complaints About Discrimination
The Athens-Clarke County Commission passed an ordinance in November 2016 to allow individuals to file complaints of alleged discrimination in bars with the Athens-Clarke County Attorney’s office. This complaint filing process, however, has not been widely used over the past three years. This ordinance came after alleged discriminatory bar practices in downtown…
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Athens-Clarke County
Damsel in Defense Director, ACC Detective Share Tips to Keep Local Residents Safe
Christy Dove is a former firefighter who has dedicated her livelihood to educating women on how to stay safe in Northeast Georgia. Dove, director for Damsel in Defense, said the organization’s mission is to equip, empower and educate women to protect themselves and their families. She said being situationally aware,…
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Athens-Clarke County
How Some Athens Couples Aren’t Letting Their Valentine’s Day Go To Waste
While some couples in the Athens area are planning to spend Valentine’s Day having a nice dinner or seeing a movie, the more unconventional romantics will be spending it learning what happens after they flush their toilets. The Athens-Clarke County Water Reclamation Facility is holding their 5th annual Valentine’s Day…