When she was named Atlanta’s 24th police chief, Erika Shields was given a mandate from Mayor Kasim Reed: Get a handle on the city’s spiraling murder rate.
For three straight years, the number of homicides had risen in Atlanta. In 2016, for the first time in nearly a decade, Atlanta topped the century mark in murders.
So Shields -- in what amounts to an audition for Atlanta’s next mayor -- made some big changes in operations and focus.
Halfway through her first year, the stats tell a compelling story on whether those changes have worked.
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