Crime decreasing across the county
Guns used more often
Savannah law enforcement officials report that crime is decreasing and attribute that change to community engagement and technology.
Within unincorporated Chatham County, total crimes decreased from 1,789 in 2022 to 1,630 in 2023. Within the City of Savannah, total Part I crimes, which include all violent and property offenses, decreased from 6,366 in 2022 to 5,862 in 2023.
Total property crimes, which include shoplifting, commercial and residential burglaries, also decreased within the city and unincorporated Chatham County areas. Specifically, there were 649 fewer total property crimes - 5,979 in 2023, down from 6,628 in 2022 - within the city and unincorporated Chatham County areas.
Although total crime is decreasing across Chatham County, guns continue to be wielded in the commission of crimes at a higher rate than previous years.
Guns used more often in crimes in Chatham County
Within Savannah city limits, 394 domestic and non-domestic aggravated assaults involved a gun in 2023, whereas there were 366 in 2022. Within unincorporated Chatham County, 94 domestic and non-domestic aggravated assaults involved a gun in 2023, whereas there were 74 in 2022.
In total, there were 36 homicides within both city limits and unincorporated Chatham County, 33 of which involved guns.
“Nowadays, instead of communicating with one another to try to solve a dispute, they’re very quick to pull a gun and discharge a gun,” Savannah Police Department (SPD) Major Michelle Halford said in an interview in her office at SPD headquarters at 6600 Abercorn Street.
Halford partially attributed the
availability of guns to those stolen from locked and unlocked vehicles. Within city limits, the number of guns stolen from vehicles decreased slightly from 2022 to 2023 — 278 to 244 — but more guns were stolen from locked vehicles in 2023 than 2022 and 2021 - 41, up from 28 and 22.
“The number of guns being left in unlocked vehicles in Savannah is ridiculous,” said Halford. “We’re having citizens leave loaded weapons in unlocked vehicles.”
At a Jan. 19 Chatham County Commission meeting, Chatham County Police Department Chief Jeff Hadley also raised the issue of guns being stolen from vehicles.
Within unincorporated Chatham County, fewer guns were stolen from vehicles in 2023 than 2022 and 2021 - 63 in 2023, down from 96 in 2022 and 73 in 2021. Similar to previous years, most of the guns were stolen from unlocked vehicles - 55, compared to three guns stolen from forced entry into locked vehicles. “Completely preventable crime,”
Hadley said.
Halford attributes the overall decrease in crime to SPD’s renewed focus on technology, which, she said, puts “the officers in the right spots at the right time.”
Since 2022, Savannah officials have approved budget requests by SPD to expand ShotSpotter, technology that attempts to identify gunshots to dispatch law enforcement. The city has also purchased BriefCam, a company that uses artificial intelligence to search through camera footage, and approved a contract with Fusus, a real-time crime center that allows the police to view camera footage of businesses that choose to opt-in to the program. In 2020, SPD added 16 license plate readers through the company, Flock Safety, a technology that captures vehicle data and alerts police to potentially stolen cars.
“I can think of an incident that occurred where a 6-year-old was shot in front of Savannah Tech,” said Halford. “And without Flock cameras, we would not have been able to solve that crime. And we solved that in less than 24 hours.”
Halford added that the decrease in violent crime — particularly homicides within city limits, which have decreased to 28 in 2023, down from 32 in 2022 and 34 in 2021 — can be partly attributed to community engagement, including frequent conversations with faith-based leaders and community activists. Halford added that people are more often calling in with tips on crimes.
Drew Favakeh is the public safety and courts reporter for Savannah Morning News. You can reach him at AFavakeh@savannahnow.com.