Mayor Kasim Reed, members of the Atlanta City Council and the Atlanta Police Department hosted a town hall meeting tonight to discuss public safety and the City’s support for neighborhood-based crime awareness initiatives. Residents at the meeting heard directly from Mayor Reed and Atlanta Police Department Assistant Chief Shawn Jones on the steps the city is taking to combat the recent uptick in crime in Zones 5 and 6. The meeting was held at Grace United Methodist Church in Midtown.

“From my first day in office, public safety has always been my top priority,” said Mayor Reed. “Crime is at forty-year lows and the Atlanta Police Department is the strongest it has ever been, yet we can do more to ensure all our neighborhoods are safe. My Administration is working to deploy new strategies to address repeat offenders, and APD has set a goal to reduce crime in Midtown by 20 percent, immediately. This is what City residents and visitors deserve and expect.”

Assistant Chief Jones reported that officers have made a number of significant arrests in Zones 5 and 6, including many repeat offenders who have been arrested multiple times, for crimes including armed robbery, burglary and car break-ins.

Through a partnership with Fulton County, which could be made possible by an order from the Honorable Chief Judge of the Fulton County Superior Court, Gail Tusan, City of Atlanta Municipal Court Judges will be empowered to handle these tougher cases and take on a responsibility for getting repeat offenders off the street. In addition, the Atlanta City Jail, under the leadership of Chief Patrick Labat, will make space available to house repeat offenders in the event that the Fulton County Jail lacks the capacity to accommodate the increase in the number of arrestees.

“The Atlanta Police Department is committed to working with our community partners in reducing crime in Midtown and the City of Atlanta,” said Assistant Chief Jones. “We are increasing our visibility and employing new strategies aimed at lowering crime in all our neighborhoods.”

The Department also announced additional steps it is taking to address crime throughout the city, including:

• Repeat Offender Unit – the Atlanta Police Department has created a repeat offender tracking unit to monitor repeat offenders after their arrests in an effort to deter future offenses. Serious crimes will be assigned, investigated and reviewed by a Repeat Offender Officer. The unit will work closely with community prosecutors to make sure those arrested are brought to justice. The Atlanta Repeat Offender Commission recently completed a report that shows that 461 individuals have been responsible for a total of 14,412 arrests due to crimes including murder, aggravated assault, robbery and gun crimes.

• Operation Shield – the Atlanta Police Department will continue to utilize a video integration center (VIC) to track more than 5,700 security cameras in private and public sector facilities. The VIC is expected to grow to 10,000 cameras in the next two years.

• Special Police Details – a total of 22 officers and four sergeants have been deployed for a special detail and will focus on checkpoints to control possible DUI activity after hours, conduct sweeps through Piedmont Park and patrol with their vehicle blue lights on at night for visibility.