Crime is up across the country. Just this past weekend, there was another shooting at Lenox Mall in Atlanta. Residents in Atlanta and elsewhere are starting to demand action and city officials are scrambling to find answers to a very multi-faceted problem.
In Macon on Thursday, Mayor Lester Miller, along with other elected officials, faith leaders, law enforcement agencies and community partners, announced the launch of MVP – Macon Violence Prevention.
“We all know someone whose family has been directly affected by violent crime. Every story we read and every statistic we hear is someone’s child, someone’s brother or sister, or someone’s mother, father, or friend,” said Mayor Miller. “This is personal, and it impacts every single one of us. And it will take each one of us giving and doing more to fix the problem.”
Community meetings are being scheduled to identify the needs of neighborhoods and bring together organizations ready and willing to meet particular needs and help reduce violent crime. The city and its partners are committing to have a plan in place in about 90 days.
MVP Is a major step in the crime reduction process said Miller but several initiatives have already been undertaken to address the root causes of criminal activity.
“We started new programs like Macon Mental Health Matters, our aggressive Blight Fight campaign, Clean Streets Matter, and the Brookdale Warming Center because we know sustainable change requires a more holistic approach. It requires more work than just locking people up, though that does become necessary,” said Mayor Miller. “We can help our officers be safer in their jobs if we can find ways to prevent violent crime before it happens.”
The mayor was joined by a number of other city leaders, including Sheriff David Davis, District Attorney Anita Howard, and Bibb County School Superintendent Dr. Curtis Jones. Superintendent Jones’ presence was a reminder of how crime reaches all the way down into local schools and teenagers are often as likely to be involved in illegal activity as anyone.
“When I think of our students who get up early and have to go to the bus stop, they should be able to get to the bus stop safely,” said Superintendent Jones. “They should not have to walk through a place where they’re worried about what’s going to happen when they get there…we need to improve this situation.”
All the officials noted that reducing crime will require more than just more officers on patrol, including expanding proven outreach efforts, prevention programs, mental health services, mentor programs and education services.
“When we talk about MVP, Macon Violence Prevention, we cannot do it without another MVP, Most Valuable Participants,” said Sheriff Davis. “As we go forward there will be some in-person forums, online opportunities for everyone to put in ideas and suggestions. But the bottom line is, for everybody to make a difference, everybody has to be involved.”
