Trump says Atlanta is like a 'killing field', data shows violent crime is declining – WABE

New preliminary data shows that violent crime is declining in Atlanta, despite former President Donald Trump's claims it is out of control.

At a rally earlier this month, Trump criticized city officials for their response to crime.

“Under this kind of woke, radical left politics, Atlanta is like a battlefield,” Trump said.

The Major Cities Chiefs Association recently found that the city actually reported slightly more murders and rapes in the first six months of 2024 compared to the same period last year.

Atlanta Deputy Police Chief Charles Hampton Jr. said at Monday's Public Safety Committee meeting that the increase was due to “escalated disputes” and “domestic violence.”

However, according to the association, the number of robberies fell by almost 17 percent and the number of serious physical injuries fell by 13 percent.

It's difficult to pinpoint the exact causes of the overall drop in violent crime, which includes a 17 percent drop in homicides nationwide, but the U.S. Department of Justice said it may be due in part to the agency's collaboration with state and local law enforcement agencies, which are working together to hire more police officers, stop drug trafficking, arrest violent felons and confiscate and track down weapons used in crimes.

“These updated data follow last year's historic decline in the murder rate across the country and one of the lowest violent crime rates in 50 years,” it said. “Three and a half years ago, the Department of Justice launched an ambitious strategy to combat violent crime that is built on investments in our partnerships with other federal agencies, with state and local law enforcement agencies who risk their lives every day to keep their communities safe, and with the communities we all serve.”

In Atlanta, city officials hope that a new public safety training center, dubbed “Cop City” by opponents, will further aid those efforts, including by helping to recruit and retain more police officers.

But for about three years, there have been demonstrations against the 85-hectare, $90 million project. Some environmentalists and abolitionists have expressed fears that the project would further militarize the police and disproportionately affect the poorer, predominantly black and Hispanic neighborhoods around the site.

A federal appeals court in Atlanta heard arguments about whether the public can vote on the training center's future in December, but a ruling is still pending.

In the meantime, construction work continues and the training center is scheduled to open at the end of this year.