While much has been accomplished during my administration of the District Attorney's Office, there
are many challenges ahead. Even though the national crime rates have been declining or holding steady, the growth in
our region of the State has brought with it an increase in the crime rate.
Drugs
One of the biggest trends in crime we are seeing in North Georgia is the explosion of methamphetamine.
This highly addictive and deadly drug is directly and indirectly connected to most of our crimes involving thefts, burglaries
and violent crimes.
Anyone who sells, distributes and manufactures drugs should serve time. The user, however,
does not always need to serve time in jail or prison. Serving time does not deal with the addiction which
drives their criminal behavior. To that end, I support the Drug Court program started by Superior Court Judge David
E. Barrett for Lumpkin and White Counties.
Domestic Violence
Even though the appellate courts have handicapped us in dealing with domestic violence cases, we
still try to adhere to our "no drop" policy and prosecute cases where the victim does not cooperate. One thing
I would like to see for the future is fast tracking domestic violence cases. That would require the cooperation
of the Sheriffs Department, Courts and the District Attorney's Office to move these cases through the court system rapidly
while the victim and defendant are still in the crisis stage. Fast tracking domestic violence cases would also
require the cooperation of state and local entities for funding.
White collar crimes include ID theft, fraud, embezzlement and computer crime. These
crimes attack the financial security of individuals, businesses and government. It is important that we inform and educate
the public to catch these criminals and prevent these crimes from happening to other victims.
Child Abuse/Child Molestation
We have and continue to vigorously prosecute those individuals that take advantage of our children.
I whole hardly support the recent changes by our legislature that punishes these crimes with twenty -five years to life in
prison.
Staffing and Office Administration
Get salaries up in order to maintain experienced staff. Obtain a case management system to
more consistently manage cases across the circuit. Adequate staffing levels to provide training to law enforcement and
more efficiently handle the case load.
