Atlanta, GA
Metro Atlanta county chairpersons discuss regional approach to ‘rise in crime’
ATLANTA – Some metro Atlanta policymakers hope a regional strategy would be the key to deal with violence.
The chairpersons met Friday to debate efforts to advance public security and tackle crime which they stated is their high drawback.
The assembly at Central Library targeted on a number of key points like gang intervention, psychological well being, public coverage, and funding.
The chairpersons stated the primary drawback they’re all going through proper now’s an increase in crime.
“The thugs, the criminals, the unhealthy guys, they do not acknowledge boundaries when they are going to commit against the law,” Fulton County Chairman Robb Pitts detailed.
Chairpersons from Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton, and Gwinnett met to debate insurance policies of their respective county and the way the opposite jurisdictions can use that technique when addressing crime in addition to how a regional strategy is significant to creating communities secure.
“One instance we spoke about at the moment was an actual time crime heart and the truth that a few of us are utilizing expertise to higher reply to crime and that is one thing we are able to share as an effort throughout jurisdictions,” Cobb County Chairwoman Lisa Cupid defined.
Pitts went on to say that “we need to put the sources and insurance policies in place to help the professionals and that is what we talked about at the moment.”
The elected leaders say the Atlanta Regional Fee carried out a 2021 Atlanta Speaks survey that recognized crime and security as a priority for 32% of residents in metro Atlanta, up from simply 16% the 12 months earlier than.
“The unhealthy guys could not care much less a few county line or municipal boundary,” DeKalb CEO Michael Thurmond detailed. “So we have now to talk with one voice and use no matter useful resource collectively to maintain the metro Atlanta area secure.”
Crime continues to plague many metro Atlanta communities proper and infrequently instances entails our youth.
“One of many contributors to the rise in crime and that’s the pandemic and the change of the help community that our group has, particularly that our younger individuals have, and we talked about having a summit,” Cupid detailed.
These leaders additionally hit on insurance policies that may deal with taking criminalization out of psychological well being in addition to managing the inequity in terms of pay for metro Atlanta regulation enforcement.
“Why ought to anyone who’s making as an example 40, 50,000 in Clayton County get the identical pay as anyone in a inhabitants of 800 to one million individuals,” Clayton County Chairman Jeffrey Turner questioned. “So there are some issues you have to work by way of, however there’s a must degree out the inequity.”
These leaders consider a collective effort amongst them and a partnership with police is significant to get this drawback underneath management. They’re additionally engaged on summer season packages to makes positive younger individuals are being productive through the upcoming months.