Major violent crimes, including homicide and robbery, declined significantly in Athens-Clarke County in 2025, with local officials crediting several factors and initiatives introduced last year.
Several members of the Athens-Clarke County Unified Government, including Mayor Kelly Girtz, believe preventing crime starts with the youth.
“The stressors are sometimes related to crimes, particularly for people in their teens, early 20s,” Girtz said. “If their lives are unstable, they’re not going to have that support network around them, and we want a support network to be around everyone in this community.”
Why It’s Newsworthy: Officials say youth programs are helping improve the lives of Athens-Clarke County kids and playing a factor in a decrease in violent crimes.Girtz said the Athens-Clarke County government invests significantly in youth services, including the Boys & Girls Club of Athens, to connect young people with resources and support. It also funds the Neighborhood Leaders Program, where 16 community members provide access to services and promote community engagement.
Filling Police Vacancies
Another factor contributing to the reduction in crime is improved staffing at the Athens-Clarke County Police Department.
“Three years ago, we had over 50 openings for law enforcement; we had 50 vacancies,” said Jerry Saulters, ACCPD chief of police. “We now have two, and I’ve got hundreds of applications to fill two spots. So, we’re fully staffed.”
Along with being fully staffed, Saulters said the attrition rate is the best it has been in years, meaning ACCPD officers are not leaving for different police departments.
Saulters said it is important to not only have a fully staffed police department but also to ensure each officer cares about the community.
“I want to hire great people,” Saulters said. “I want to hire someone who has a servant’s heart that cares about the community and wants to do the right thing.”
One of the largest initiatives reducing violent crime, according to Saulters, is the ACCPD’s real-time crime center, where citizens can register their cameras to give officers access to feeds. Saulters plans to expand the center in 2026.
“We have over 1,300 cameras from the community that pour into that center,” Saulters said. “They’re not Athens-Clarke County cameras; they’re not police department cameras. They’re cameras at apartment complexes and communities that say, ‘Hey, we want to feed our information to you,’ which helps us to quickly solve crimes.”
A Crime Victim’s Perspective
Despite the reduction in violent crime seen in 2025, incidents still occurred.
Lilly Winston, a third-year student at the University of Georgia, believed Athens was safe until she was robbed in October 2025.
“I don’t think I ever worried about anything ever happening to me,” Winston said. “I would walk around alone because you hear about things and you don’t really think about it until it actually happens to you.”
After Winston was robbed, she said the ACCPD officers arrived on the scene immediately and continued working in the neighborhood days after the incident.
“A few days after they were in the neighborhood constantly asking my neighbors questions, just riding around trying to get more information, I think, which was obviously nice to know that they were actually doing something about it, and it kind of comforted me a little bit,” Winston said.
Winston said that despite the consistent reassurance from the officers, she felt there was more that could have been done to rectify the situation.
“There wasn’t really enough done to fix the situation, which I know they can’t really do much, but I wish they would have just been able to find the guy,” Winston said.
A Sustainable Trend
Saulters said he believes it is important to build relationships with the community to not only reduce crime but reduce the fear of crime.
“I don’t believe that we should police the community,” Saulters said. “I think we should police with the community, and when we have those partnerships, that’s only going to make us better and stronger, and then we’ll continue to reduce fear of crime.”
Girtz believes the reduction in violent crime can be sustainable, and he is personally invested.
“We are working for you every day. We all have family members and loved ones here, those of us in public service, and so this reduction in crime that is real is impactful to us,” Girtz said.
Emma Gladd is a third-year student majoring in journalism.
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