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AJC.com > Metro > View from the cop > Archives > 2006 > May > 05 > Entry
Protesting isn’t for everyone
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Sandy Springs City Council recently heard public comments from residents, business owners, employees on closing drinking establishments at either 2 a.m. or 4 a.m. There were at least a couple of hundred folks who wanted to speak on the subject, both for and against.
On one hand, people who work at jobs that carry late hours want to be able to go and do some catching up — meaning your 4 a.m. is really their midnight or so. The club owners indicate the revenue is significant during that two-hour period. On the other, many don’t want the problems associated with late nights and alcohol.
How long should the bars stay open?
The Buckhead area changed the bar-closing times to 2 a.m. and reportedly it has cut their overall crime rate. If they close at 2 a.m. and Sandy Springs closes the bars at 4 a.m. does this mean they gravitate north and Sandy Springs now inherits the 2 to 4 a.m. drinkers and, if so, will it be a problem?
Are the drinkers from 2 a.m. to 4 a.m. two-fisted drinking or just folks leaving their late-night jobs? Or a combination of both?
How much out-of-service time will this cost the police? This is prime office-burglary time and officers on the street would rather be sneaking around the commercial areas hoping to land a business burglar.
Right now, taking a drunk to jail takes about two hours. Someone has to cover that beat. Some nights, the busy cars never get back into service. One thing is for sure. The Sandy Springs Police Department will have to operate efficiently during these hours.
A concern by some is that this move to close the drinking establishments at 2 a.m. primarily targets establishments that cater to African-American and Hispanic patrons.
How do you break it down? If a higher percentage of police reports are filed between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. in predominately African-American and/or Hispanic clubs, what does that say? Problems in those clubs or discrimination?
One thing is for sure, though. This kind of stuff brings out protesters.
Protesting isn’t for everyone
One way to voice your opinion is to have your own, or be a part of a protest. You have to be in good physical shape to protest because you have to hold the sign up and look concerned at the same time. You have to be ready for the camera. If you protest something serious and the camera catches you smiling, your protest loses credibility.
At Tuesday’s Sandy Springs City Council meeting, there were 25-30 protesters alongside Roswell Road. They were nicely dressed.
The protesters had nice T-shirts, but the writing was too small. The letter-size of the protest sign and protest T-shirt should fit the conditions. If you are protesting in a 25 or 35 MPH area, it would be OK, but with the average speed on Roswell Road being currently somewhere in the vicinity of the speed of light, You only have 00.0004 of a second to actually read the signs or shirts. This is why every protest planning session should be attended by a math major.
Some of the protesters indicated they were being paid. Doesn’t this taint the whole commitment-to-the-issue thing?
When I was in the military I was stationed in California. We were preparing to go overseas. This was latter part of the Vietnam War. The anti-war protesters were outside the gate day and night. They left school and work to protest. They protested non-stop. They had commitment, they had unity and they had a lot of pot. They walked the perimeter of the base a singin’ songs and a-carryin’ signs but frequently took long breaks for Twinkies, candy bars and Boone’s Farm.
Still, when you look back, they were a major influence on the outcome of the war as well as the annual stock of Boone’s Farm.
It felt that this Sandy Springs group wasn’t really “on” to the principles of this protest. I had the feeling that some didn’t even live in the area, but they had some nice T-shirt and those signs were very well done. I think the font was Arial Rounded AT Bold.
Back at the meeting, everyone was very orderly. The meeting room soon filled so 75 to 100 participants were left outside in the parking lot. We passed out meeting agenda sheets so that everyone could see what they weren’t going to get to do. We all sat around singing Joan Baez songs.
Many people signed up to speak at the meeting. Actually, if everyone who signed up to speak actually got to do so, the meeting would have lasted about four days.
I’m not sure how the outcome influences the revenue of the clubs or the social implications of those who work late, or the monthly check for the lawyers, or the crime rate in the area but it really is interesting to hear all the different sides of the issue.
One more observation.
If you’re going to protest, put down your cell phone and get with the movement.
Comments
Commenting is now closed for this entry.
By Stephen
May 5, 2006 4:39 PM | Link to this
Frankly, close the bars at two and be done with it then folks going into work will not have to deal with drunks navigating the wrong way at 5 AM in the morning; and saves the flunkies who have to process the drunks that are nabbed behind the wheel from have to feel rushed when quitting time comes upon them.
Of course your right about protesting. At least make it readable so us folks who still depend on bifocals can at least see what we are supposed to see. (Trying to drive at the speed of light and adjusting thy bifocals to read is a pain.)
One wonders though, did they have their favorite Lattae’s with them?
Geez and people think the blog is boring… Sandy Springs, you guys have not seen things yet…
By Ron
May 5, 2006 6:57 PM | Link to this
A compromise would be as Orlando FL bars operate, closing at 3AM with last call at 230AM.
By Why Not?
May 5, 2006 9:59 PM | Link to this
Instead of a patrol car being out of service for two hours in transporting a drunk to jail, why not use one or more “paddy” wagons to transport all but the most violent offenders to jail? Part of the D.U.I. punishment would be being hauled around the county at a snail’s pace, and being lumped in with drunks, addicts, and burglars in the same stinky prisioner cabin. Nobody said justice had to be swift.
And yes, close the bars at 2 AM. Good move for all concerned. I met too many drunks on the wrong side of the road at 3-5 AM.
By trudy
May 6, 2006 9:13 AM | Link to this
When did protesting stop being cool? It is hard to find a good protest these days. Former hippies that have morphed into Suits just can’t pull if off.
Let’s hear it for the 60’s! Peace, Love, and Bobby Sherman! Yeah, baby.
By Cletus Snow
May 6, 2006 1:42 PM | Link to this
Stephen,I’ll have to agree. How much drunker drunker can you get in two hours When I lived in Buckhead I’ve got up plenty of sunday mornings with drunks passed out in my front yard. enough of that
By Bryce
May 6, 2006 9:25 PM | Link to this
The problem is the way they went about it. Their statistics they could not back up. They never campaigned on this issue. Buckhead was a problem for Atlanta, and that was the reason for closing times. These buisnesses have operated for a long time with little problems. So for the council to make it an issue, is really not fair. Their number of 37 percent, mysticall dropped to 27 percent during the council meeting. They allowed two hours of speaking on zoning, but 40 minutes for the entirety of the alcohol discussion. If they are going to do this, they need to show the true benefits of the action. They talk about their new force that will ring out on July 1 at midnight, because the size will be doubled. Well if that is the case then it shouldn’t be a problem at all to cover the rare calls they actually get to these establishments. If the FBI says most banks get robbed between 11am-1pm, should we make all banks close those hours to cut down on the crime? No to nightclubs, but do not shut down the places that have offered late night food and drink to people who get off work late. Again, they should show the benefits of why these people should lose the revenue and why the new city wants to sacrifice the tax revenue. That number they gave of 37% or 27% also said calls to resturaunts. Does that include alarms going off at places that are closed? We need the facts, and if they bare out merit, then the discussion should be had in earnest. Not a knee-jerk reaction.
By Elane
May 6, 2006 11:11 PM | Link to this
I think protesters ought to try the “Burma Shave” approach: Each person wears a t-shirt with one word printed on it in large letters. The protesters arrange themselves at intervals so that drivers can read the entire message clearly.
Signed, Elane President & CEO, Acme Kwik-print, Inc.
By Rod
May 7, 2006 4:05 AM | Link to this
keep the bars open 24/7, that way 2am-4am is no big deal. Don’t tell me Albany Ga. is keeping bars open later than big “A”:4am.
On the sign font size: same goes for illegal yard sale signs, church car-wash signs, etc. MAKE IT BIG so we can read it at the speed of light.
By edge770
May 7, 2006 10:24 AM | Link to this
I believe in a multifaceted approach..
I agree on the 24/7. My view is alcohol laws in this state are extremely archaic and cause more problems than solve them. But, I also agree on the paddy wagon approach. Get a couple of beat officers that ride bikes or segways that can patrol the central area and if they see drunks, roll in the paddy wagon. And no, I don’t think this is “race related”..
I also think if Sandy Springs want less bars in their community, that they work with property owners in developing specific zoning laws and build up a specific location for these type of establishments (ala Underground) so it can be centralized, controlled and have specific conditions relating to those establishments. So everyone that chose to do so can have a good time and yet not get out of hand..
By I protest protesting
May 7, 2006 4:48 PM | Link to this
Protesters amuse me. When I was in college, I would see numerous protests on the square, and invariably, I would see the same protesters at each “rally”. Dirty, smelly, high on weed. Half of them didn’t believe in what they were protesting…they just wanted somewhere to crash for a few days and get high with their friends. It was a big party.
“Protester” is just a nice way to say “lazy stoner”.
By Brigid
May 8, 2006 8:32 AM | Link to this
The hour of the day isn’t going to make a difference for the amount of crazy drunks out there. The bars close at 2 am in Calgary, AB and there’s just as many drunks as there would be at 4 am. They just start earlier or drink more. I agree. Just keep them open 24 hours. No more issues.
By Brenda
May 8, 2006 2:31 PM | Link to this
I think 2:am is an idea time for Bars in Sandy Springs to close.Or better yet 12 midnight is even better. I feel if you want to embarass yourself by getting drunk, DO IT AT HOME!! where no one will notice. If you feel that you can not socialize with other humans without drinking or getting drunk then you shouldn’t be drinking.So much is happening during the Bewitching hours ,I think by closing bars early this will eliminate at least one of the problem Sandy Springs is faced with. BUY YOUR BOTTLE AND TAKE IT HOME,relax, listen to music,watch movie, order out and GO TO BED!! “Trouble is so easy to get into BUT so hard to get out of”. Remember, “The best fun had in bars are the one you can remember the next day”.Alcohol is not the answer.
By Jason Mitchell
May 15, 2006 9:06 AM | Link to this
I’d rather have officers out doing aggressive traffic enforcement and getting drunks off of the road. It’s pretty rare to actually catch a burglar, and if you do discover an open door, it’s almost always far too late to do anything about the crime.
When our morning watch changed its focus from security checks to traffic enforcement, our night-time burglary rate went down 20%. Traffic stops, and roadblocks are a high visibility deterrent to criminals. On nights when we had roadblocks, we’d strip our precincts so that there’d only be a couple of guys answering calls, but the chance of a burglary that night was cut in half.
I think doing high visibility aggressive patrol is extremely valuable. Cops should be out there taking drunks off of the road. That reduces the risk to all of us of being involved in an injury crash, and the visibility of those blue lights lets everyone know that the law is in town, and they’re active.
By Ken
May 15, 2006 11:50 AM | Link to this
The burma shave idea is a good one, but then all the protestors have to be able to read and stay in line! And if they’ve been hired to protest, they probably can’t.