Atlanta police chief says department needs help fighting city’s rising crime

ATLANTA — In an exclusive interview, Atlanta Police Chief Rodney Bryant answered Channel 2′s questions about the increasing crime in the city.

Atlanta is currently short on officers but they have gotten assistance from other agencies to make up for it.

The GBI, FBI and Georgia State Patrol are all working with APD to increase the law enforcement presence on city streets.

Bryant says APD can solve crimes but they need help stopping crime before it happens.

“What we’re asking is a number of our civic institutions to get involved and coming up with ideas they think could intervene,” Bryant said.

TRENDING STORIES:

• 1 man dead in officer-involved shooting in downtown Decatur, GBI says
• Gwinnett Co. sheriff being investigated for targeting bond company that didn’t support his campaign
• Atlanta rapper T.I. being investigated by LAPD for sexual assault

According to Bryant, 15- to 25-year-olds are responsible for our current crime wave. The parents of these young people also play a role in this.

“Many of our families have to get involved with these kids. They really need to be more attentive to what these kids are doing,” Bryant said.

The Atlanta Police Foundation is playing an active role. They are helping the mayor put more cameras on city streets.

The group is also working to get their Promise Youth Centers back open to full capacity. The have been operating at a reduced capacity because of COVID-19 restrictions.

The promise centers help young people with anger management and coping skills.

“The recidivism rate of the first 1,500 kids who’ve come through the Promise Center is less than 5%,” Bryant said.

State worried vaccination rates for people between 1st and 2nd doses of COVID-19 Right now, the state's vaccination rate is at about 30% for fully vaccinated people.

Cox Media Group