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Athens-Clarke County
Popularity of Substance-Free Activities at UGA Continues to Grow
Students at the University of Georgia are starting to push back against the alcohol-infused mentality many associate with typical college culture. Kelly Truesdell, who works closely with groups organizing these events through her job with the UGA Fontaine Center, says one of the major driving factors behind this trend has…
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Athens-Clarke County
Electric Buses Are Coming to UGA For Next School Year
UGA has recently signed a contract with South Carolina tech company Proterra and will be receiving up to 20 Proterra Catalyst E2 electric buses in time for the upcoming academic year. The new addition to UGA’s transit is being funded by a $10 million grant. The university was awarded the…
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Athens-Clarke County
Local School Credits Athletics With Lowering Crime Rates
A recent study shows that 68 percent of incarcerated males do not have a high school diploma. The Athens-Clarke County school system is striving to help reduce crime rates by strengthening the school system. “The single best thing we can do as educators to reduce crime is to start in…
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Athens-Clarke County
DUI Arrests Decreasing Each Year in Athens-Clarke County
Since 2007, the number of DUI arrests in Athens-Clarke County has decreased steadily from 827 cases in 2007 to just 350 cases in 2018. Two factors may contribute to this decline: a decline in the number of police officers and fewer people choosing to drive drunk. Since 2016, the…
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Athens-Clarke County
Athens Clarke-County Plans to Eliminate Cash Bail System
The Athens-Clarke County Commission and mayor plan to eliminate bail for local ordinance violations. “We’re talking about the elimination of bail and bond for crimes that are generally a misdemeanor, non-violent, non-problematic sorts of things where we’re not putting the public at risk,” said Athens-Clarke County Mayor Kelly Girtz. He…
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Athens-Clarke County
Athens-Clarke County Police Department Offers Online Incident Reports
Athens Clarke County residents can now file incident reports digitally. It’s important we have officers out there actually doing the policing,” said County Manager Blaine Williams. Benefits of Digital Reports Officers no longer have to come to the police department lobby to take a report, a process that takes them…
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Athens-Clarke County
Emergency Medical Service Shortage Affects Northeast Georgia
A nationwide shortage of Emergency Medical Service personnel has swept the nation, including counties all across Georgia. Because of these shortages, EMS workers in affected areas have had to work a lot of overtime, and in extreme cases, ambulances have had to stop operations for lack of employees. In Madison…
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Athens-Clarke County
Georgia Justice Project Seeks to Provide Life-Changing Opportunities
It looked like April LaLand-Sentmanat had no way out. Terrified for her 10-year prison sentence, LaLand-Sentmanat decided to put her faith in the Georgia Justice Project. After 30 years, the Georgia Justice Project (GJP) continues to provide legal defense, social support, and employment opportunities to people convicted of crimes in…
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Athens-Clarke County
Half Of All Inmates are Mentally Ill, So Why Are They In Jail?
Just to be clear, if you’re in jail, chances are you are accused or have been convicted of committing a crime. What may not be clear is whether you suffer from mental illness. On Tuesday, March 19, a Georgia appellate judge told a room full of criminal justice students, civil…
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Athens-Clarke County
Use of Death Penalty in Georgia is Declining
Georgia jurors have not handed down a death sentence in the past five years as the prevalence of capital punishment in the state continues to decrease. Not only are juries supporting the death sentence less often, prosecutors aren’t seeking it nearly as much either. Over the past two decades, prosecutors…