ATLANTA — Atlanta’s police chief says Georgia’s multi-jurisdictional crime suppression unit is helping to get criminals off the streets.
Gov. Brian Kemp stood side-by-side Wednesday with police, deputies and troopers to talk about the numbers coming out of that crime suppression unit he formed last year.
The unit is made up of officers from the Atlanta Police Department along with the Georgia State Patrol, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office and others.
Since it formed, the unit has targeted street racing, stunt cars and gang-related crimes.
Atlanta Police Chief Rodney Bryant told Channel 2′s Richard Elliot that by working together, they’re getting ahold of the crime that has plagued the Atlanta metro.
During a news conference Wednesday, Kemp revealed the latest numbers from the crime suppression unit.
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“We will use every resource at our disposal to rid our communities of crime and keep Georgia families safe,” Kemp said.
Since April 2021, Kemp says the unit made 23,000 vehicle stops, handed out 16,000 citations, made 588 DUI arrests and impounded 1,300 vehicles.
He also says they nabbed 451 wanted people -- including 26 murder suspects. Kemp said the unit also recovered 342 stolen weapons and 312 stolen cars.
“I’ve never seen an operation work more seamlessly than this one,” said GBI director Vic Reynolds.
Bryant told Elliot that some of the crime activity is now moving into the suburbs, but said the unit can operate there, too.
“That’s where we come in, to strategizing and partnerships, and recognizing when they move. We’re just as aggressive in our movement and our planning,” Bryant said.
Kemp authorized $5 million in emergency funding to pay for the unit over the past year.
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