PSA: Kennesaw refuses to enforce its own ordinance
...and no, I’m not talking about the hokey ordinance requiring every head of household to own a firearm. This is far more serious and hits much closer to home.
Ordinance Section 62-8 is Kennesaw's sex offender ordinance. Among other things, it prohibits registered sex offenders from living, working, or loitering within designated "safe zones" surrounding child care facilities, schools, churches, and other places where children commonly congregate, such as parks, playgrounds, and community or neighborhood pools. If you're a parent or loved one of someone in a vulnerable population, and the existence and presumed enforcement of this ordinance gives you a sense of relief, just wait...
Kennesaw Police Department was recently alerted to a violation of the ordinance’s prohibition on registered sex offenders working within 1,000 feet of child care facilities. The reported situation involved proximity to three separate child care facilities.
Upon receiving the report, KPD made one misguided attempt to investigate the matter and closed it as "Nothing further" after an unsuccessful attempt to contact an inconsequential third party. So if you are a parent or loved one, know that one unanswered phone call was apparently sufficient for KPD to stop investigating further, despite the matter involving child safety and an ordinance specifically enacted for that purpose.
Unsatisfied with that response, the matter was escalated to the Criminal Investigations Commander, where it was again handled without any apparent sense of concern or urgency. After three more weeks of follow-ups, the City of Kennesaw ultimately refused to enforce the ordinance.
So if you dropped your kids off this morning believing the City of Kennesaw had protections in place that KPD would dutifully enforce, I have bad news for you. What is presented as a 1,000-foot safe zone is not necessarily so. There could be a four-count convicted child molester working on the other side of the playground.
Regardless of the City's eventual refusal to enforce the ordinance, it should not take a month to investigate a legitimate public safety concern, especially one involving the protection of children. If the city will not enforce this provision, what other ordinances will it similarly decline to stand behind when the time comes?
Keep an eye on upcoming City Council agendas. By nature of the City's refusal to enforce the ordinance as currently written, you may eventually see agenda items proposing changes that make the sex offender ordinance less restrictive. The public deserves transparency, accountability, and answers.