SOUTH FULTON, Ga. — One of the youngest and fastest-growing police departments in the metro Atlanta area is taking a bite out of crime.
South Fulton Police Chief Keith Meadows sat down for an exclusive interview with Channel 2′s Darryn Moore to show us the technology his officers are using to capture criminals.
Meadows is the first and only police chief for the City of South Fulton.
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The department got its start six years ago with only 87 officers.
Meadows developed an aggressive recruiting plan.
“We are very fortunate in that the city council allowed us to raise our salaries, so we were able to go from that 87 to like 134 within the matter of a year,” Meadows said.
With more officers, the department reduced robberies and assaults by 24 percent in the last year.
The chief said he’s targeting the criminals who keep causing havoc in the community.
“We have those repeat offenders that are constantly victimizing our community, so we want to make sure that we are putting effort into recapturing them and getting them off the streets of South Fulton,” Meadows said.
Technology is a big help in fighting crime.
The department has access to real-time cameras from businesses and residential areas where officers can see if someone is committing a crime, especially crimes of opportunity.
“We have so many guns and weapons that are stolen from cars,” Meadows said. “You all have covered the stories.”
Under Meadows’ leadership, he also created a unit whose focus is going after squatters.
Gov. Brian Kemp signed Georgia’s squatter reform act in April.
“Some of these people are coming in and using them as drug homes. They’re using them as places where human trafficking is taking place. So all of those things contribute to your crime rate,” Meadows said.
Meadows said there’s more to be done to make the City of South Fulton a safe place to work and live.
The department is also working with a local company to provide affordable housing to officers so they can live among the citizens they protect.
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