Smith Rolls Out Initiatives to Fight Public Corruption

Submitted by Preston Smith

Attorney General candidate Preston Smith rolled out his initiative to expand the state attorney general's office to fight public corruption today. His plan includes the implementation of a statewide grand jury to prosecute certain crimes with a statewide impact.

"Georgia has a serious crime problem, and we have to do something about it now," Smith said today, "or we are going to lose too many innocent children to the illegal sex and drug trade industry."

Sen. Smith said he is specifically concerned about Georgia's human trafficking problem and the commercial sexual exploitation of women and children – particularly in Atlanta where some statistics show the city as one of the worst places for human trafficking in the world.

Various data confirms that human trafficking is the fastest-growing criminal industry in the world – a $5 billion and $9 billion "business." The U.S. State Department estimates that more than 600,000 men, women and children are trafficked across international borders each year, and most of them are women and girls. As many as 50 percent are minors.

Smith says that several states around the country, including Florida and South Carolina, have statewide grand juries that can empower prosecutors to take on the predators who are exploiting thousands of people each year.

"We can no longer sit back and watch while the attorney general's office ignores the problem," Sen. Smith went on to say. "This has been going on for decades and it gets worse every year. We have to go after these criminals now – before it is too late for our children."

As a state senator, and as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Smith worked on hundreds of pieces of legislation to support crime victims – particularly the most vulnerable of those victims, children. He said he plans to work with the members of the legislature during the 2011 legislative session to craft a crime package that will make these criminals think twice before coming to Georgia to prey upon our citizens.

During his service in the Georgia General Assembly, Sen. Smith helped pass legislation that allows juries to impose a sentence of life without parole in murder cases, strengthened Georgia's incest laws and put a stop to smash and grab offenders – a problem that has plagued nearly every city in Georgia.

"Georgia families have a legitimate fear for the safety of their children," Sen. Smith went on to say. "While we many never return to the days when we didn't have to lock our doors at night, my objective as Georgia's attorney general is to make our state the most unwelcome place in the nation for those predators who are involved with human trafficking and drug trade. I want the message to be clear: we do not want them in Georgia, and we will not tolerate them or the industry they are trying to promote."

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Preston Smith is seventh generation Georgian. He was elected to the State Senate in 2002 and became the youngest serving Senator in recent history. He is a graduate of Baylor University where he earned a Bachelor of Business Administration. He later earned his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Georgia. As an attorney, Smith specialized in civil litigation and has been admitted to practice in the state and federal trial and appellate courts. He also is a member of the State Bar of Georgia. He is endorsed by the National Rifle Association, GeorgiaCarry.org, Georgia Right to Life, and the Republican Liberty Caucus.