Shelter-in-Place Due To Coronavirus Causes Decreasing Crime Rates in Oconee County

COVID-19 has caused a lot of problems, but one result that’s not so bad — a reduction in crime rates in at least one Northeast Georgia county.

The Oconee County Sheriff’s Department said they take quarantines and safety seriously. They are expected to use all of the safety procedures recommended by the CDC.

Sheriff Scott Berry told me quarantine has actually reduced crime rates, and “things are actually going pretty well.”

He said the safety procedures they are implementing into their daily routines are helping as best they can, but they do not expect life to go back to normal once quarantine is over.

Amanda Regan is a senior majoring in journalism in the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Georgia.