Sheriff Donnie Craig and Lt. Ernie McArthur unveiled a new program last week to help parents keep better tabs on their offspring drivers.
S.T.O.P.P.E.D. (Sheriff Telling Our Parents and Promoting Educated Drivers) will allow the Sheriff’s Office to contact parents who enroll their kids in the program any time the kids are stopped by an officer, regardless of whether they are ticketed or charged with anything.
“[A generation ago] all the cops knew the kids’ daddies, and when they stopped the kid, they would call the daddy,” McArthur said. “This program will provide us with contact information for the parents. Then, if an officer stops that child, we can give them a call.”
The officer will be able to spot a decal in the back window of the youth’s vehicle with a permit number providing contact information to reach parents. Parents will be contacted the day following a vehicle stop by sheriff’s personnel to discuss where, when, and why their teenager was stopped.
Even if a young driver is only stopped for a suspicion of wrong doing, the notification will give parents information that their teenager was out in a vehicle and where they were––information which may come as a surprise in some cases.
It will be up to parents to sign up for the program, and it is strictly voluntary. It is available for any driver under the age of 18 years old.
Sheriff Craig said he first got the idea for the program from stickers on many commercial vehicles asking “How’s my driving?” that list a phone number. Further research by the Sheriff’s Office found some similar programs, including one in New York state that this program was modeled on.
Craig said this program follows other initiatives started since he became sheriff a little more than a year ago (such as community watch and business watch) with the idea of creating connections between sheriff’s officers and the community.
The funding for the program came entirely from a grant of the Bureau of Justice Assistance.
Sign ups are available online at www.PickensGaSheriff.com, or parents can stop by the Sheriff’s Office at the county jail on Camp Road between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., or call 706-253-8900. The Sheriff’s Office will mail the decal and more information.
Sheriff’s officers involved with the S.T.O.P.P.E.D. program plan to attend public functions to present the program directly to the public. |
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