Atlanta’s steep rise in crime has been put into focus in a new Crime and Safety Impact Report by Our America. As Fox 5 Atlanta reported in January, that increase is in both violent and non-violent crimes. “Atlanta police investigated 7% more homicides in 2022 than in 2021. Burglaries, shoplifting and car thefts also increased in the city. … For the third consecutive year, homicide investigations have increased in the city. Atlanta police investigated 170 homicides in 2022. That rate has slowed down, however, since it increased by approximately 60% from 2019 to 2020.”
As those numbers indicate, Atlanta has been struggling with increasing crime over the past several years, which was shown in FBI crime statistics, spiking from 2020 to 2021. “In Atlanta, crime has continued raging into 2021,” The New York Times reported, “In the first 18 weeks of the year, police statistics show homicides up 57%, rapes up 55%, aggravated assaults up 36% and auto thefts up 31% compared with the same period last year.” The city’s rise in homicides is part of a larger national trend. “Violent crime has risen in large cities across the nation, with several setting new records for murders in recent years,” The Wall Street Journal reported, “Philadelphia, Portland, Oregon, Louisville, Kentucky, and Albuquerque, New Mexico, had their deadliest years on record in 2021. Atlanta had 158 homicides in 2021 and 157 in 2020, compared with 99 in 2019, according to the Atlanta Police Department.” Reports of aggravated assaults also rose sharply between 2020 and 2021, from 970 To 3,465.
Property crime rates also continue to be alarming. “Instances of burglary and shoplifting increased in Atlanta compared to the previous year. Motor vehicle thefts increased 5% overall. More glaring than the city-wide trend though, was the 31% increase in burglary calls and 22% spike in motor vehicle thefts reported in Zone 6, which is located in East Atlanta.”
This unacceptable rise in Atlanta’s crime rate highlights the urgent need for change. Our America National Director Gabriel Nadales released the following statement: “The Our America Crime and Safety Impact Report demonstrates what we’ve known for years. Crime has gotten significantly worse since before the COVID-19 pandemic, and not only in places like New York and Los Angeles, but also in smaller profile cities like Tucson, Arizona, Henderson, Nevada, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. With this report, Our America seeks to show the public that although the headlines on crime might be dominated by larger cities, it’s happening everywhere.
“High crime rates make it considerably more difficult for people to realize the American dream. Sadly, minority communities in particular are the hardest hit by rising crime rates since they tend to disproportionately suffer from crime as it is. It’s incumbent on state and local governments to establish and uphold safe communities for families and businesses to succeed. We hope that this report and its recommended solutions can help foster safer streets and brighter futures for Americans across the country.
