MACON, Ga. — As Macon-Bibb's homicide rate continues to climb, the Bibb County Sheriff's Office is making progress in cutting down on other types of crime.
Sheriff David Davis says they noticed some promising statistics in a recent study they did called "Operation Four Corners." Davis announced the crime reductions Thursday during a news conference in downtown Macon.
The operation focused on what the sheriff calls 'proactive policing.' They arrested 473 people and filed about 700 criminal charges over 85 days between May and August.
"What are we doing about crime? What are we doing to address these violent offenders? What are we doing to address these violent incidences in town?" Davis said during the news conference.
These are some of the questions Davis says he gets the most often. So, his department hatched a plan.
"This operation touched on all facets and all parts of Macon-Bibb," Davis said.
They asked people in the community which areas needed more deputy presence, and got to work. There were some huge results.
"A 68% reduction in commercial armed robberies. And that's because these officers were out there. They were being seen. They were checking these locations. And so it was a deterrent," Davis said about the operation.
They had 25 commercial armed robberies between March 6 and May 30. There were only eight in the 'Four Corners' period, between May 31 and August 24. They also have statistics on the $2 million Shotspotter system Macon-Bibb installed in February.
"We saw a 39% decrease in the amount of Shotspotter alerts during this time, and a 24% decrease in rounds fired," Davis said.
They also noticed a 53% reduction in houses shot at, and 4% fewer aggravated assaults.
Sheriff Davis says one area they still need to work on is limiting the number of homicides. He says the 'Four Corners' approach didn't work there, because homicides are usually spur-of-the-moment crimes.