This week, when former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty on all charges in the death of George Floyd, the justice system worked as it was designed.
However, there still exists a significant disconnect between what is happening on our own city’s streets and the judicial system. And yet this is only one of many challenges we face in dealing with rising crime rates that we have not seen in Atlanta in nearly 22 years.
Just a few weeks ago, the administration released another plan that does not get to the root of the problem. When you are in a crisis, you do not spend time assembling well-worded, glossy plans. You need to act. In fact, much of what was included in the plan are initiatives that are already underway.
Today, we need a tactical approach for managing things we can control and leveraging the resources we have at hand to curtail what is happening on Atlanta streets now.
Credit: contributed
Credit: contributed
Late last year, I publicly suggested three actionable measures be taken. I believed then and still believe today that they are crucial to stop crime numbers from continuing to escalate. I intend to keep raising them until we see something being done, especially since the Atlanta City Council has already done its part by raising the issues and passing policies.
Today, it requires executive action and leadership from the top down. First and foremost, we need to get constant, and transparent updates from the administration, which is tasked with the day-to-day operation of the city.
In tandem, we need to immediately launch a national search for a permanent police chief. The timing is tough and given the current environment there will be economic and political challenges, but the need for a permanent chief of the department is still critical. Getting the right leadership in place is crucial to ensure that we get back to the basics of policing, work to use the resources we do have in the right way and morale issues begin to get addressed.
Along with this, our officers who are on the streets protecting us need to know that the administration is working to address pre-existing staffing shortages and fill the empty positions available on the force. They are our frontline and must be supported. After all, we expect them to be accountable in the measures they use to protect us, so we should have some accountability to them.
Speaking of accountability, having a police force that is stretched thin could jeopardize efforts to ensure that enforcement occurs in a manner that respects the rights of all. So, along with putting in place adequate staffing, we also need to be sure that current disciplinary issues are being addressed and that oversight and accountability remain top of mind. Good officers need to be rewarded and bad officers need to be removed.
Finally, once our officers make arrests, we need to be sure that violent offenders are not released early. That means it’s time to have a leader who will work with the court system to slam the revolving door of our jails shut.
These measures offer a practical approach to addressing the challenges that lie before us, yet they require action outside of City Council, the legislative body. We have the power to set policy, but not to execute it.
So, what is needed is legislative and executive collaboration. We need action to carry us through what is certainly one of the most challenging periods in our city’s history.
Felicia Moore is president of the Atlanta City Council.
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