City efforts to minimize crime have made historical change and for the first time in 20 years, they have had zero murders in September 2025. Mayor Kelly Girtz presented updates regarding crime rate decreases at City Hall for reporting students from the University of Georgia on Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025. From the beginning of the year to date,  aggravated assault has decreased 18%, robbery has decreased 21% and  motor vehicle theft has decreased 24%.

Crime statistics that have seen increases from the beginning of the year to date include driving under the influence to 7%, liquor law violations to 54% and narcotic violations to 16%. 

He emphasizes the importance of public safety being community-focused and programs being initiative-driven to address citizens’ needs by combating disparities in the community through preventative work and organizations like The Boys and Girls Club, and national programs and efforts like SNAP benefits. Referencing Princeton University Professor of Sociology and Public Affairs Patrick Sharkey’s study which finds a positive correlation between the presence of non-profit organizations aiding in crime reduction, Girtz deems these main points of emphasis that he attributes to producing “quality policing.” 

“We want to make sure that people are well versed and engaging with every member of the public, rich or poor, black or white, young or old,” Girtz said. 

Girtz placed great emphasis on law enforcement being community service oriented and ensuring officers are adequately equipped with strong crisis intervention skills, leading to all 243 sworn positions are filled for the first time in over 20 years. The police training process includes six months of post-certification, in-house training, along with 40 hours of crisis intervention training which is five times longer than the state requirement. 

The city has founded a “Vision Zero” office within their transportation department to come up with plans for improvements that Girtz attributes to keeping the streets and intersections safer. The office has been granted $15 million for work funding over the next three years. 

The police collaborate with dozens of other agencies to increase outreach and impact. The city uses a “Real-Time Crime Center” through collaboration with private and public camera systems to improve efficiency. Girtz said this is in place so “crimes can be solved quickly before additional criminal activity can take place.”

“One out of 23 adults in Georgia are on either probation, parole or incarceration, versus one out of 71 across the nation,” Girtz said. “This shows us that we're not doing all those things in people's early childhood and people's early adult lives that we could be doing to make people less likely to be criminally engaged.”

The city will continue to provide further updates for the public in the months to come.