GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. – School’s out, but new safety measures are already planned for the upcoming school year.
New tag reading cameras are going up at four schools in Gwinnett County to catch speeders and sex offenders in school zones.
“I believe it’ll be a great idea because the safety of our children is what’s important,” said parent Lauren Walker-Robertson.
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Officials are also working to allow the cameras access to the statewide offender database. That way, the cameras can read tags and alert police of sex offenders who enter school zones.
“So, it’s not just speed cameras, it’s two-fold. It also acts as a safety measure for the schools as well,” Sadowski said.
Here’s a new kind of headline: “Tag reading cams going up at these schools to catch speeders, sex offenders”
To be clear, they’re going to “catch” sex offenders who drive their cars down city streets in the vicinity of public schools.
“Officials are also working to allow the cameras access to the statewide offender database. That way, the cameras can read tags and alert police of sex offenders who enter school zones.” Alert them to do what?
Georgia’s laws place restrictions on where registered citizens reside, work, or loiter. Driving to the store, or to the Sheriff’s Office to register, it not residing, working, or loitering. An 8 second video of tags would hardly be sufficient, IMO, to prove loitering. That’s less time than an average nose-pick. Driving rapidly enough to trigger a speed camera seems the opposite of loitering. “OMG didn’t realize there was a school on this road, feets don’t fail me now!”
Of course they don’t let anyone comment on their news articles.
What part of “TEACHERS have Sexual Relationships with their Students” do those idiot politicians not understand?
Not once have I seen a single report of anyone on the registry just ‘Loitering’ at or around the school.
Do they have an IQ test before you are elected into politics? Any qualifications such are reading and math comprehension skills required?
It’s just a money grab by the county.The sex offender line was just thrown in to silence opposition to the cameras being installed.
Now we just wait for the inevitable falls arrest when a registrants spouse uses the family car to drop and pickup kids. That should be a fun can of worms. I wonder if they thought of any provisions for this very likely outcome.
I should take a trip there and stand about a few blocks away and shine my 6.5 watt blue laser right at the CCD ! burn a few cams out that will cost them quite a few bucks to keep replacing ! !! And im not sure on destruction of property but 100% legal for me to own and use LOL (just a 6.5Watt laser not LEGAL to sell !)
So they will be tracking a specific group of people that arent doing anything wrong?
I do believe that falls under the same unconstitional umbrella as GPS tracking of people where it wasnt judicially determined to be needed as part of their probation or parole. Without a warrant, that’s a no-no.
It is the electronic/camera companies going to the school districts selling their products. Everything is free up front and once installed the district’s pay payments. Same for parking meters, and traffic signal light cameras at most all cities across the nation.
I don’t believe it’s the districts/city’s reaching out but the fear marketing platform by the companies.
Wonder why the cameras don’t pick up tags of people convicted of selling drugs to children, people driving a car in a school zone of which has been convicted of DUI several times, etc.
Sorry, “my bad”! That would not get you re-elected. Or maybe it is because there would be far less click-thrus on the news article.
Joe123 makes a good point-
Seems to be a lot more “teacher-student sex offenses” going on INSIDE of the schools than OUTSIDE.
People in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones!
Last year the school district in my town announced they had implemented the Raptor system at every school.
Every adult coming on campus would need to scan their ID before getting in. They stressed that it would only look for sex offenders and NOT immigration status. They pointed that out a few times.
But I guess drug dealers, murderers, muggers and others are ok.
Was this really such a big problem to justify the tens of thousands of dollars spent on it? Huge waste of resources.
This is only the beginning.. more insanity is coming. At what point do you draw the line and say: “ENOUGH!”
Pretty soon they’ll amend SORNA to require everyone with “access to a vehicle” to have GPS installed in all said vehicle(s) and have the data monitored by the local sheriffs’ office (all in the name of public safety). AND… guess who pays for it? You got it. Oh, and automatic FTR for non-compliance.
Don’t think they haven’t already thought of this!
As George Carlin said, we sure do got some dumb people in this country.
What’s the public going to do if they know an individual that’s identified a registrant and is at a school, call the police and create story that a “sex offender” is at a school and therefore has commit a crime?