Under the new law, an individual convicted of a fourth offense within 10 years would be required to spend one to 10 years in prison and to pay a fine between $5,000 and $10,000. | Adobe Stock
Under the new law, an individual convicted of a fourth offense within 10 years would be required to spend one to 10 years in prison and to pay a fine between $5,000 and $10,000. | Adobe Stock
Lawmakers in Georgia are pushing a bill that would raise the penalties for individuals found guilty of fleeing the police.
According to a March 6 report by FOX 5 Atlanta, the House voted 95-63 Thursday to approve House Bill 1216, which states that anyone convicted of fleeing from the police for the fourth time would be convicted of a felony. The approval last week sent the bill to the Senate for further debate.
Current law states all offenses of fleeing from police in Georgia are high and aggravated misdemeanors, a category of misdemeanor that carries higher penalties, the report states. While supporters of the change cite more than 500 pursuits conducted by law enforcement in metro Atlanta since April 2021, opponents state there is no data to show eluding police was getting worse or that higher penalties would deter fleeing suspects.
"It’s just the routine grind of piling on in a criminal legal system that we’re not sure works," Rep. Scott McLaurin, a Sandy Springs Democrat, told FOX 5 Atlanta.
Under the new law, the report states an individual convicted of a fourth offense within 10 years would be required to spend one to 10 years in prison and to pay a fine between $5,000 and $10,000.
The bill would also raise the minimum fines and jail penalties for earlier offenses, FOX 5 reports. With this, an individual convicted for the first time would be sentenced to at least 30 days in jail with a fine of at least $1,000, marking an increase from the current 10-day penalty and fine of $500.
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