Chatham County, GA Public Conduct: Loitering Rules (2026)

Sec. 11-103 defines loitering or prowling as being in a place, at a time, or in a manner 'not usual for law-abiding individuals' under circumstances that create a justifiable and reasonable alarm or immediate concern for the safety of persons or property nearby. The ordinance lists specific behavior a Chatham County Police officer may weigh in judging whether that alarm is warranted: taking flight when an officer appears, refusing to identify oneself, or visibly trying to conceal oneself or an object. Before making an arrest, the section requires the officer to give the person a chance to dispel the alarm by asking them to identify themselves and explain their presence and conduct, unless flight or other circumstances make that step impracticable.

That procedural safeguard has teeth: a person cannot be convicted under this section if the officer skipped the identification step, or if it turns out at trial that the explanation the person gave was true and would have resolved the officer's concern. The ordinance sets no separate fine, so a conviction is punished under the general penalty in Sec. 2-108: up to $500, up to 30 days in the county jail, up to 60 days of work-gang labor, or a combination, with each continuing day treated as a separate offense.

Because Sec. 11-103 applies only in the unincorporated area, the same stop in Savannah or one of the county's cities is charged under that city's own loitering or disorderly-conduct code instead.