Barrow legal system facing challenges

JUVENILE COURT
Judge Guidry told the board that Barrow County represents the largest number of cases in the Piedmont Judicial Circuit juvenile system. Guidry said the child advocate office is understaffed and needs additional employees to adequate meet the needs of Barrow County.
Guidry said he would like to staff a juvenile court office in the new Barrow County Courthouse with one of the child advocates currently stationed in Jefferson. He said he would also like to move a program coordinator from Jefferson to Barrow County. Additionally, Guidry said he would like to add a child advocate, deputy program coordinator and an administrative assistant to the Winder office.
Guidry’s goal is to have one attorney for every 130 deprived children. Though the national standard is one attorney per every 100 cases, Guidry’s office is currently functioning with two attorneys handling 339 cases, or approximately 170 cases each.
DA’S OFFICE
Bridgeman told members of the BOC one of the biggest obstacles facing his office is the increase in statutory sentencing requirements without additional resources to impose the mandates.
Bridgeman said there is not enough prison space to house offenders and not enough probation officers to deal with parolees. He said less serious offenders are going to end up in the community, creating a problem for citizens and law enforcement.
“We have to find more creative ways to deal with offenders coming into our system,” he said.
Bridgeman said his office would like to do more to keep juvenile offenders from growing into adult offenders. He said it is imperative that law enforcement and the judiciary help children get back on the right track so that they can grow into law-abiding citizens.
He also spoke in favor of alternative sentencing and work release programs. Offenders who have a desire to get out of the vicious cycle of arrest and recidivism, should have the opportunity to do so, Bridgeman said.
“It is always a success when someone doesn’t come back before us as a defendant,” he said. “A lot of these people can get their life back on track with the proper incentives.”
SHERIFF’S OFFICE
Sheriff Robinson told the board that the economy is putting a strain on his office and the county in general.
“The economy is bad and when it gets bad, our business picks up,” he said.
Robinson said his office is experiencing more burglaries, thefts, family violence cases and incidents of child abuse.
Robinson said the jail currently has 90 beds, but is responsible for housing 216 prisoners. The cost of housing prisoners in other facilities is a problem that should be corrected when the new jail facility is completed in 2009, he said.
Robinson invited the board to ask questions and get involved with his office to learn more about what it is doing and what it needs to serve the citizens of Barrow County.
Robinson said he just wants to run his office to do what the citizens of Barrow County elected him to do.
“We are not your enemy; we are all elected to do a job,” he said.