IS COUNTY’S SOLUTION FOR GAS STATION CRIMES THE RIGHT FIX?

After community uproar over a rash of car thefts and break-ins in a concentrated area of Fulton County, commissioners agreed recently to require gas stations and convenience stores where crimes take place to improve their security and hire guards or risk losing their license to sell alcohol. We asked readers if these measures will help reduce crime and is putting the responsibility on the business owners the right move. Requiring business owners to hire guards and train employees on robbery deterrence or lose their liquor licenses penalizes them for uninvited crimes on their property. Per a previous article, the perpetrators are repeat offenders, with little to no repercussions, which makes no sense. The second time they are involved in a crime, they should be fined and assigned community service or jail time, depending on the severity of the crime. Parents should also be held accountable, particularly if they are enabling their kids. Fines and penalties should be increased with each crime. Perhaps community service will help put these kids on a better path. In my view, the current ‘fix’ firmly places the blame on the business, not the criminals. This is another backward solution that, at best, will cause the criminals to simply change the venue for their crimes, such as moving to grocery store parking lots. The true blame for these crimes rests on the young criminals. They should have to pay through serving time. From earlier stories it seems that the criminals are well known to the police. They have been frequently arrested, but the revolving door legal system returns them to the street with minimal cost to the criminal. Actual punishment would be much closer the attacking the root cause of the problem. Lock your doors/ take your keys/ problem fixed/ no cost. I don’t think pushing the total responsibility for crime prevention onto the gas stations is a reasonable stance for Fulton County to take. The new law is onerous on small business people. Additional police patrols should be a top priority. But, more important is the revolving door in our court system. A known group of 22 juveniles has committed 70 percent of the crimes. The police arrest these thugs, take them to court, and they are released to their parents. Then, they go back out and commit the same crimes over and over with the same result. The real solution is to get these young criminals off the street. Fulton County’s solution to “slider” crimes at gas stations/ convenience stores is no solution at all. It is a perfect example of government “doing something” to address a situation over which neither it nor the store has control. These crimes are caused by negligence of the drivers involved. Punishing the store is a typical pass-the-buck move . ... A better approach, but one that would not be perfect due to human nature, would be to post a prominent, permanent sign on each pump warning drivers to lock their car before pumping fuel. Some would comply. Others would not. There is nothing wrong in requiring better security at places that are sites of numerous robberies. However, I think the patrons should share some of the burden. If someone gets out of their car and leaves it unlocked, I don’t have too much sympathy for them . ... Get out of your car and immediately lock the car doors. Why make it easy for a crime to happen? SHELAGH MAREE HARDRICH FOR THE AJC