With a 41 percent increase in homicides and facing serious financial problems, DeKalb commissioners fear a national spotlight on cable television will cause the county even more damage.
The A&E reality crime show “The First 48” has been filming the DeKalb County Police Department’s homicide unit for several weeks and plans to air the shows later this year.
But county commissioners say they didn’t sign off on the filming and are trying to intervene.
“I am absolutely not in agreement with being highlighted in that show. I think it is poor for our image, not good for economic development and just not a good thing,” Commissioner Lee May said. “I’m going to talk to the CEO about this and see what he can do.”
A contract obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution shows Chief Operating Officer Richard Stogner, the police chief and the county attorney agreed that the show could film throughout 2011 with the option to renew for up to four more years.
Under the agreement, producers follow around DeKalb’s homicide detectives and document the first 48 hours of a slaying investigation as officers try to solve the crime.
Producers said they chose DeKalb because of its murder arrest rate.
“When we look for departments to profile, one of the first things we consider is the quality of the leadership and the detectives. The clearance rate for the DeKalb County PD homicide unit was well above the national average in 2010, around 71 percent,” said Michael Sheridan, the show’s co-executive producer.
The national average murder arrest rate for counties the size of DeKalb is about 60 percent, according to the FBI.
However, while DeKalb may have had success making arrests, the county’s homicide rate rose more than other counties in the metro area.
DeKalb’s medical examiner reported 102 homicides in 2010, compared with 74 in 2009. Of those 102, 89 were in unincorporated DeKalb and the responsibility of DeKalb police.
Fulton County also reported an increase in homicides, but not as high. The county, which includes the city of Atlanta, had a 12 percent increase.
Both Cobb and Gwinnett counties saw declines in their homicide rates.
DeKalb’s 1,100 sworn officers can’t control the homicide rate, Chief William O’Brien said. Homicides are one of the hardest things to prevent and there is little justification for why they rise and fall, he said.
The chief points to 2009, when DeKalb reported the lowest homicide rate it had seen in nine years. He also touts the total 2010 crime statistics that show a 10 percent reduction in all violent crimes and a 7 percent reduction in property crimes.
Year-end crime statistics showed DeKalb saw large decreases in robberies, rapes and car break-ins.
But the drops occurred in a year when morale dropped to low levels. Furlough days and no raises caused officers to protest by writing fewer tickets — a move that ultimately cost the county $5 million in less revenue in 2010.
“We struggled with low morale, furloughs and other concerns, but the officers came out and showed what was important: serving and protecting the citizens of DeKalb,” O’Brien said. “We’ve got a job to do and we took an oath to do it.”
Despite an anticipated $28 million shortfall in this year’s budget, commissioners have said they likely will not furlough officers. However, police have seen their paychecks decline to cover an increase in health insurance costs and pension contribution.
It’s those issues that drag down morale and are one of the reasons the CEO said he authorized “The First 48” coming to DeKalb.
“This is an opportunity to showcase the best practices of policing. We thought it was a good thing for the department,” CEO Burrell Ellis told the AJC. “I’m not aware of any negative reasons it would impact economic development. Overall, we think we have a good story to tell in DeKalb.”
But county commissioners see that story as one of violent shootings, stabbings and other brutal crimes that could steer businesses, tourists and conventions elsewhere.
“Think about the cities that have been highlighted. I don’t want to be compared to Detroit and Memphis,” May said. “I get what the chief is saying about highlighting the great work our police do, but I think there are other ways to do that.”
Memphis canceled its contract with “The First 48” in 2008 after image and legal concerns arose about the show highlighting a brutal murder where a man killed his brother and five children. At the time, the police chief said he worried that the show’s crew had jeopardized evidence at the crime scene.
Under the contract, the show’s cameras get more access than news media.
“The police director decided not to renew the contract based on concerns about how the city was perceived by people outside the city,” said Mary Cashiola, spokeswoman for the Memphis mayor. “We’re showing all these murders and the concern was we weren’t getting anything in return.”
Like Memphis, DeKalb does not receive compensation, but “The First 48” has agreed to make a recruiting video and public service announcement for the police.
The Detroit mayor also canceled his city’s contract with the show last year after Detroit police killed a 7-year-old girl during a raid being filmed by “The First 48.”
“It didn’t go well. A little girl died and the mayor’s office stopped the show,” Detroit police spokesman Samuel Balogun told the AJC. “Sometimes it’s good for people to see what we do. This time, the city didn’t think so.”
A lawyer for the girl’s family has accused the officers of “thinking more about making good television rather than executing a search warrant with concern about the safety of officers and citizens,” according to the Detroit Free Press.
DeKalb’s CEO and police chief said they were not aware of those incidents and have full faith in their officers to act with professionalism while being filmed.
“Every murder is shown on the news here every day anyway,” O’Brien said. “I don’t think a camera will make my officers any different.”
O’Brien said the filming also has encouraged more witnesses to come forward.
“We now have people coming forward because they want to come out and talk when ‘The First 48’ is on the scene,” he said.
The show has featured 18 police departments since first airing in 2004. DeKalb’s footage is scheduled to be on TV in the summer or fall, but county commissioners hope to prevent that.
“We’re going to be the Newark of the Southeast,” Commissioner Jeff Rader said. “It certainly is a light we don’t want to be seen in. We’re not proud of our murder rate and I’m not sure why we would want any visibility on homicides.”
Staff writers Andria Simmons and Johnny R. Edwards contributed to this article.
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Metro homicides
* 89 handled by DeKalb police
** 63 handled by DeKalb police
*** 41 percent increase for DeKalb police
Numbers include all homicides processed by the county medical examiners. They include deaths responded to by county police, along with all cities and municipalities.
Source: DeKalb, Cobb, Gwinnett and Fulton medical examiners
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