Who Should I Call To Make A Report? Call 9-1-1, your local police or sheriff, or the nearest Georgia State Patrol Post. Tell the operator you want to make a suspicious activity report. Ask the operator to alert Georgia Homeland Security. Your local 9-1-1 Center or law enforcement agency will contact the Georgia Information Sharing and Analysis Center called GISAC. Agents from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation or the FBI will be assigned to carefully check-out your information.
What Is Suspicious Activity? Residents may observe a variety of actions, statements, associations, timing or patterns of activity that create suspicions of illegal conduct. No one has a better perspective about what defines “normal” in Georgia communities, than the people who live there. Law Enforcement has long relied upon the common sense perceptions of Georgia citizens who notice something or someone that appears suspicious or out of place.
Should I Give Police My Name And Contact Number? Yes! If you want your report to be taken seriously, you should be willing to give your name and contact information to investigators. Someone from Georgia Homeland Security will want to talk to you personally in order to understand the full details of your information and take appropriate action in a timely manner.
Will My Identity Be Protected? Yes! Reports to Georgia Homeland Security are considered an important part of America’s ongoing investigation into the War on Terrorism. Investigators will need to know your name and contact numbers in order to do their job, but the State of Georgia will make every effort to keep your identity confidential.
Do I Have To Talk To The News Media? No! No one who makes a report to Georgia Homeland Security is required to speak with the news media. Georgia Homeland Security will not release your name to reporters. The decision to remain anonymous to the public, or to speak with the news media is left completely up to you.
How Should I Focus My Attention? Everyone should be especially mindful of suspicious activity around what Homeland Security calls “Critical Infrastructure”. These “Key Assets” are places or facilities where damage or destruction could cause an interruption of service, or result in serious injury or death.
What Should I Watch For? Georgians should immediately report people who photograph, videotape, sketch or seek blueprints for: Dams, drinking water supplies and water treatment facilities; Major highway intersections, bridges and tunnels; Ports, transportation hubs, airports and shipping facilities; Electric plants and substations, nuclear facilities and transmission towers; Pipelines and tank farms; Military installations, law enforcement agencies, and defense contract sites; Hospitals and health research facilities; Internet, phone, cable, and communications facilities and towers; And capitol, court, and government buildings. Suspicious activity around historic structures and national landmarks should also be reported.
Is My Awareness Really That Important? Intelligence agents at the Georgia Information Sharing and Analysis Center (GISAC) have investigated an average of one Homeland Security tip every day for nearly a year since the 9/11 attacks. Homeland Security Coordinator Robert Hightower says he is proud of the many Georgians who have helped keep the State safe from attacks by reporting suspicious activity.
A NOTE FROM GEORGIA'S SECRETARY OF STATE TO THE SHERIFFS OF GEORGIA
(as taken from January 2004's issue of Georgia Sheriffs' Update)
"As Georgia's chief law enforcement officers, many of you have collaborated with the Secretary of State's office in recent years to protect our citizens from unlawful activity. We greatly appreciate your assistance in arresting and criminally prosecuting those who disregard the law and endanger our citizens. I am once again asking for your assistance to target another danger facing Georgians- especially senior citizens. Investment fraud is a growing problem in our state and continues to rob seniors of their hard earned money.
To address this problem, my office has created a statewide investor education, awareness, and financial literacy program, and will be sponsoring nine investor education seminars throughout the state to teach Georgians how to protect their money. I invite you to join us to learn more about different types of investment scams and to share your experiences with this type fraud. Please visit our website at www.sos.state.ga.us or call our office at 404-656-2881 to find out more about our investor education program. If you have information or questions regarding investment scams in Georgia, please contact our Securities Division at 404-656-3920." Thank you, Cathy Cox
STOP PROGRAM
S-cared straight T-owaliga O-ffenders P-rogram
What is the STOP program? What does it mean for your child?
The STOP Program is coordinated by the Lamar County Sheriff's Office, and facilitated by the Georgia Department of Corrections under the auspices of the local juvenile courts. It is a supervised 2 hour prison tour conducted at an adult prison such as the Burruss Correctional Facility at Forsyth.
Usually the child is ordered to participate in the STOP program by a Juvenile Court Judge after committing a status offense (crime) in the Towaliga Juvenile Court Circuit. If a Judge orders the child to attend, attendance is mandatory.
Parents and guardians may also arrange for their children to attend the STOP Program. Normally, the child must be at least 14 years of age and the parent/guardian must complete and sign a release form that goes to the Georgia Department of Corrections. The program may be of benefit to a child who is beginning to show signs of behavioral problems.
The tour is designed to help a child realize what could happen if he/she is charged with a crime as an adult. It shows the restrictions that are placed on incarcerated inmates and what it must feel like to have few or no privileges, even having to ask for permission to speak. NO CHILD UNDER 12 YEARS OF AGE IS ALLOWED TO PARTICIPATE. NO EXCEPTIONS!
An orientation session is held at the Lamar County Sheriff's Office for the child and parent or other responsible adult at 8:30 AM the morning of the tour. Afterwards, all attendees travel together to the prison on a bus.
For more information about the STOP program, you may contact Sheriff's Investigator Rick McCreary at 770-358-5159.
DRUG ENFORCEMENT
The Lamar County Sheriff's Office employs 2 full-time drug investigator in its drug enforcement program.
DRIVER'S DRIVERS LICENSE INFORMATION SEE NOTE BELOW!The Georgia State Patrol Drivers' License Examiners SCHEDULE for renewals and testing: • GSP Thomaston (622 N. Church Street)- Tuesday thru Saturday 9A-5P except Saturday 9A-12Noon; • GSP Griffin (1313 Arthur K. Bolton Parkway)- Tuesday thru Saturday 9A-5P except Saturday 9A-12Noon. NO TESTING AFTER 4:00PM AT ANY LOCATION!!