Atlanta Police Department launches new anti-crime unit
ATLANTA - The Atlanta Police Department announced the launch of its new anti-crime unit Thursday.
During the unit's first three weeks in operation, dozens of felons have been taken off the streets.
Zone 3 Commander Major William Ricker heads the unit.
He said the unit analyzes crime patterns in each of the city's six zones each week. They then pool and direct resources to areas of the city where they are seeing a spike in crime in real-time, or a specific type of crime like drag racing.
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The department is partnering with the Georgia State Patrol, the Fulton County Sheriff's Office, and the City of Atlanta Corrections Department in the effort.
The law enforcement agencies meet on a weekly basis in order to determine where to focus the combined manpower. In the first three weeks alone, the unit has made 77 arrests.
Many of those arrested are repeat offenders, who were wanted for violent crimes.
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