When state lawmakers begin studying rising crime rates in Atlanta and elsewhere around Georgia, they must use a clear magnifying glass, one not fogged by politics. Otherwise, they might as well stay home and watch the grass grow or count passing cars. Politics will obscure the facts and render any endeavor to identify causes and potential solutions useless.
It will also be nonproductive to label postulations as “purely political” just because one side finds them philosophically disagreeable. This often happens when Republican and Democratic legislators sit down together and attempt to discuss or debate a problem. They put partisanship ahead of statesmanship, and nothing is ever resolved.
The facts, please. Just the facts. Make that the focus, the only focus, and, who knows, maybe, just maybe, the effort will yield something fruitful. It might even save lives.
State Rep. J. Collins, a Republican from Villa Rica, warned about the potential of discussions being tainted by politics. In a recent news article, the chairman of the House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee was quoted as saying, “There’s going to be politics in this. (But) this committee wants to dig down and look at the facts.”
He and others must keep the study on a nonpartisan track if the destination is viable results.
Some of the facts the study committee will consider is the rising murder rate in Atlanta. It’s up 50 percent over the same period last year. Rapes are up by an alarming 82 percent, and street racing is now a major problem.
Theories of why crime rates are breaking records in the state already abound. They include everything from an increase in poverty due to COVID-19, to what some consider lax gun control policies, lack of police due to recent over-scrutinizing of their actions or calls for their defunding, and so on.
The root of the problem could be much deeper than any of these theories. If so, the committee will need patience and an earnest desire to support and protect the citizenry to get there.
