Pastor and lifelong DeKalb County resident James Thomas said he and his neighbors feel the tension every day brought on by a recent rise in crime.
"Everybody walks around with a little edge on. You never know who's around, what's going to happen, who's going to do what," Thomas told Channel 2's Carl Willis. "There are people who are literally concerned."
The DeKalb County Sheriff's Office is responding to those complaints in the southeast part of the county.
They told Willis there has been an uptick in burglaries and violent crimes, like the murder of a 22-year-old on Swift Road in Lithonia in May.
The deputies' presence was felt Wednesday night. Willis saw one man being arrested for license issues at a checkpoint near Lithonia High School. Deputies then went on a warrant roundup.
"So far we've made approximately eight arrests on warrant endeavors. Probably the best case we had so far we went out on one warrant endeavor and were able to make three arrests at that location," said Maj. l.J. Roscoe, with the DeKalb County Sheriff's Office.
Deputies said they took guns and drugs off of the street as well.
"It's a huge impact on the community. Again, it proves the point that we need to be out here in this area," Roscoe said.
Some residents were certain of the lasting impact of the sweep; most were pleased to see the effort in their community.
"Sheriff Jeff Mann wants to make sure that the community knows he hears the community's pleas," Roscoe said.
"The more police presence we can get to weed out those few that are doing stuff, the better off it (the community) is," Thomas told Willis.
