Local law enforcement agencies working to reduce the number of repeat offenders who commit crimes across Atlanta say that disconnects in the judicial system and a lack of resources are hindering progress.
Just over 1,000 people arrested by the Atlanta Police Department in 2023 accounted for 24% of the department’s felony cases, according to data released Monday. That number was down slightly from 26% the year prior, but still higher than city officials want.
The Repeat Offender Tracking Unit was created as part of a multijurisdictional initiative to identify those who repeatedly cycle through Fulton County’s criminal justice system. The Atlanta Repeat Offenders Commission — spearheaded by the Atlanta Police Foundation — launched the specialized program in 2022.
In an exclusive interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Channel 2 Action News, public safety officials said there’s still work to be done despite the numbers trending downward.
Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum said the 1,000 or so people identified in the report as repeat offenders, on average, had 30 arrests and six felony convictions. Repeat offenders are defined as those with three or more felony convictions.
“These are individuals that are having a disproportionate impact on the safety of the 245 neighborhoods of our city,” he said.
Atlanta Police Foundation President Dave Wilkinson said the effort to reduce the number of repeat offenders is only successful through collaboration across local municipalities.
“I’m not sure this work will ever be done — it’s kind of like fighting crime,” Wilkinson said.
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Slipping through the cracks
Prosecutors involved with the commission say repeat offenders aren’t always sentenced properly — often only facing a magistrate judge when Fulton County’s court policy requires them to appear before a superior court judge.
According to the report, 30% of repeat offender cases last year were not sentenced by a superior court judge.
“We’re not talking about somebody that makes a mistake, we’re not talking about somebody that has one or two encounters,” Fulton County Sheriff Patrick Labat said. “We’re very intentional about going after those bad actors.”
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Public safety officials highlighted the challenge of identifying repeat offenders as they move from arrest to the courtroom. Wilkinson said an expanded database of such offenders would help arresting officers make the first identification to alert the court system.
“I think it comes back to technology,” he said.
Officials also said that Georgia’s parole and probation officers are often spread thin, which often makes it difficult to keep tabs on individuals after they’ve been released from prison.
Georgia consistently ranks among the top states in the country for the number of residents on supervision. State law requires individuals with three or more felony convictions to be sentenced without the possibility of parole.
According to the repeat offender report, 45% of cases involved individuals who were on active probation or parole at the time of arrest.
The problem is also impacting the morale of the patrol officers who see the same faces over and over again, Schierbaum said.
“For anyone that wears this uniform, is at work in our neighborhoods, it’s very frustrating,” he said. “We do want a courtroom that is aware that individuals we bring before them are impacting the perception and the reality of safety in our city.”
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
More resources needed
U.S. Attorney Ryan Buchanan said that initiatives, like the commission, aimed at reducing the number of repeat offenders need more manpower.
“This effort shows that when we get people around each other and they talk freely and collaborate well, we see good results,” Buchanan said. “If we had more fully-staffed prosecutor’s offices, agencies, police forces, that would be the best outcome.”
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
In the Fulton County District Attorney’s office, one staff member pores through cases to identify whether or not it involves a repeat offender.
“If the court doesn’t know the repeat offender, you’re not going to sentence them appropriately,” Fulton District Attorney Fani Willis said. “So a lot of the work of the district attorney’s office has been just making sure defendants wear the scarlet letter who have earned it.”
Across agencies — from the U.S. Attorney’s office to the Fulton County Sheriff’s office — leadership said they are missing crucial funding and staffing investments that would help efforts to keep repeat offenders off city streets.
“The state is going to have to get serious about making sure that agencies that keep our population safe are well funded,” Willis said.
That means additional funds toward the Georgia Bureau of Investigation for drug testing and for the Georgia Department of Community Supervision that oversees probation and parole.
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Law enforcement officials also recognize that some of the individuals on their repeat offender list suffer from mental health and substance abuse issues.
“I’m not a ‘lock them up and throw away the key’ guy,” Schierbaum said, adding that some cases are best resolved through diversion services.
“Many times it is assistance to help them in areas that society has failed them,” the police chief said, listing education, economic opportunity and a stable home life as the best crime deterrents.
“But individuals contained in this report need the judicial system to address them in a wise way,” he said.
Of all the crimes highlighted in the report, individuals were charged with felony drug possession most often.
While Willis said she agrees with the vital role diversion services play in certain cases, she believes some people are career criminals.
“We also need to realize that the place for some people is prison,” she said. “And that’s our repeat offenders that keep committing crimes over and over again.”
