Murders, violent crime down across Atlanta in 2023, car thefts skyrocketed

ATLANTA - Atlanta rang in the New Year with lower rates of violent crime, according to preliminary data from police.

The data showed violent crime was down 18 percent. Homicides were down 22 percent compared to 2022. Rapes plummeted 49 percent. Aggravated assaults were down 16 percent.

It’s the first time the murder rate has fallen since the pandemic.

"It shows that they are ahead of the threat," said retired Fulton County Sheriff’s Lt. Commander Charles Rambo.

But it wasn’t all good news.

Car thefts skyrocketed 61 percent, and reports of shoplifting were up 22 percent. The preliminary data did not include the final week of the year.

"[They] may be up, but it speaks volumes if those are the only two things that we have to deal with," Rambo said. "Then the total state of public safety in Fulton County, Atlanta, actually is heading in the right direction."

The drop in violent crime in Atlanta mirrors a national trend in big cities like New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago.

One crime analysis found the country was on track to have the largest drop in murder rates on record.

But, Rambo said Fulton County is unique with its massive backlog in the courts and jails and the high-profile RICO cases of former President Donald Trump and Young Thug.

"That is going to be key to even keeping criminal activity down," he said. "Where there's a strong county, where there's a strong power of the county criminals don't want to come in."

Rambo said this crime data is critical not only for law enforcement to understand what’s happened, but potentially anticipate what will happen next.

"You're using data as that source to see also how crime is associated and connected to other enterprises," he said.

He sees the crime surge prevalent in the middle of the pandemic to be finally waning.

"A statistical approach is analyzing the crime trends during the pandemic and now say, Hey, here's what we need to do to respond to domestic violence. Here's what we need to do to respond to auto theft," Rambo said.