Macon-Bibb District Attorney working on solutions to keep youth from behind bars

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/ WMGT)- The Macon Bibb District Attorney Office and stake holders want to develop a protocol for the juvenile system. In march, a Clayton County judge shared his idea that’s helped reduce crime and increased graduation rates. Now, plans are being put in place to do the same in Bibb County.

“We’re going to work together to create our own partnership and protocol using the processes that Clayton County has developed and has replicated in 39 other states,” Macon Bibb County District Attorney David Cooke said.

By putting a plan in place to help our youth, Cooke says it’ll help free up time to go after the worst of the worst.

“A lot of what they do addresses the causes of different juvenile crime or different juvenile acts that often times could be charges as crime and instead asking what can we do to separate the children we’re scared of from the kids we’re just mad at,” he said.

The goal is to make sure kids graduate, get a good job, go to college and become productive members of society.

“Whatever diversion services a child needs this could be therapy for them, for their families, economic assistance. A lot of times, it’s a matter of targeting the services that already exist in the community toward the children that need them,” Cooke said.

He adds, they’ve successfully prosecuted gang members that threaten the safety of our community. They’ll continue to do so, but this is cutting off the supply of kids who’s future was down that path.

“Many times, kids have problems that could be addressed in a juvenile court system, but instead could better be addressed by wrap around services to keep them from ever coming into a court house,” he said.

Mercer University Law Professor Sarah Gerwig-Moore says this initiative will also save money. Gerwig-Moore believes this initiative will be the gold standard of moving forward in the juvenile system.

“And actually saves problems down the road. If we make sure that the child has done something violent or have a reasonable belief that they’ve done something violent before we detain them,” she said.

Gerwig-Moore says a lot of times kids are tried as adults. She says there’s are many resources for our youth in the juvenile system, and now this new initiative the adult prison system cannot address.

The plan should be completed by tomorrow night.