The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Experts agree: There’s no easy solution for urban crime
Republicans have seized on crime — particularly Atlanta’s rising homicide rate — as a key issue in their strategy for the 2022 elections.
But it’s a problem with many causes and no easy fix, experts told a legislative panel.
“There’s just no way to tell exactly why it’s hitting the way it’s hitting,” Pete Skandalakis, director of the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia, told the state House Public Safety Committee. “You can’t blame it all on the pandemic. You can’t blame it all on guns. You can’t blame it all on the criminal justice system. You can’t blame it on the police. You can’t even blame it on all the riots that occurred out west or even in the city of Atlanta. There’s no one cause that causes a surge in crime rates.”
Violent crime hit historic levels in Atlanta in 2020, when authorities investigated 157 homicide cases — the most in more than two decades. It hasn’t gotten any better this year. Through June, homicides had increased in the city by more than 50% and shootings were up by 40% compared with the same time period in 2020.
The response has been multifaceted:
■ Gov. Brian Kemp has called on the Legislature to enact policies aimed at curbing crime during a special legislative session already planned for this fall.
■ Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms created an office of violence reduction, and she announced plans to invest $70 million to develop and implement strategies to address crime.
The Georgia Department of Public Safety created a “crime suppression unit,” with 10 officers focusing on the Atlanta area.
Atlanta police Chief Rodney Bryant was among those who told the legislative panel more police and greater visibility will help reduce crime to a point.
“We must all be mindful that we will not be able to police our way out of this. We will not be able to lock up enough folks, regardless of how many police officers we have,” Bryant said. “But having a police presence does have an effect on both the perception of crime plus the ability for an individual to commit a crime.”
Adrienne Penake, a volunteer with the gun control organization Moms Demand Action, encouraged lawmakers to invest in grassroots anti-crime organizations to try to head off gun violence, saying such programs “already have successful relationships in their local communities.”
That idea met some resistance from state Rep. Alan Powell, R-Hartwell, who focused on boosting police forces.
A lack of police “is what creates anarchy,” Powell said, “and that’s what we need to be dealing with at this time.”
House Speaker David Ralston and Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan have their own ideas. They both involve money.
Ralston wants to boost criminal justice funding by $75 million next year.
Duncan has proposed creating a $250 million tax credit for Georgians who donate directly to local police departments or sheriff ’s offices.