Garfield Hammonds Jr. serves as chairman of the Georgia State Pardons and Paroles Board

Jet, July 22, 1996

Garfield Hammonds Jr., the new chairman of the Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles, believes the only way to stop crime is to reach youth early.

Hammonds is the first Black man to hold the post of parole board chairman and was appointed to the Board by Governor Zell Miller in 1995. He was later voted chairman by the board members in January 1996.

In his new position, Hammonds has enacted a Drug Education and Prevention program. "You cannot stop crime if you do not reach the youth of today," he says. "If we do not tap into this resource now, by the time I see them, it may be too late."

Concerning violent offenders, Hammonds believes the responsibility of the Parole Board is not to reduce sentences, but to keep Georgia's most violent offenders behind bars as long as possible. In doing so, the Board will tell criminals and their victims that violent behavior will not be tolerated in the state of Georgia.

Hammonds has devoted his career to law enforcement and drug education and worked for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) from 1969 to 1994. He began as a DEA Special Agent in the Detroit and New York offices. He went on to serve the DEA in several upper level management positions in Washington, D.C., and Chicago. In 1984, after retiring from the DEA, he was appointed by Governor Miller to head the Georgia Department of Youth Services, a position that he held until his appointment to the Parole Board.