APD reports mixed crime trends; PAD outlines diversion work and seeks more 911/311 integration

Atlanta Police Department and the city's Policing Alternative Diversion Division (PAD) briefed the City Council Public Safety Committee on May 27 on crime trends, the city's diversion work and opportunities to redirect low-priority emergency calls away from sworn officers.

Deputy Chief Collier of APD said weekly crime was down 12% but that some specific categories rose: shoplifting was up about 8% and aggravated-assault counts increased in recent 28-day comparisons. "We continue to reduce crime with 12% down," Collier said; he added the department had made 27 arrests in a cited period and that shootings were down 26% year over year, even as knife-related aggravated assaults rose.

PAD's executive director, Mokimasias, told the committee that PAD had responded to more than 500 calls for service from January through April 2025 and enrolled 42 people in long-term case management. The agency's expanded multiyear contract that began in January 2025 allowed PAD to increase hours and staff; PAD now offers community-response teams on weekdays from 7 a.m. to midnight and reported an average response time of about 15 minutes.

Why it matters: PAD officials argued many low-priority calls consume extensive officer time and could be handled better by nonlaw-enforcement responders. Mokimasias said an analysis of trespass and panhandling calls showed nearly all were dispatch-priority-3 — defined during the meeting as "no crime in progress, no weapons, no physical fight, and no threat to life or danger of property being lost" — and that roughly 63 such calls a day fell during PAD's operating hours. "That represents over 30,000 hours of officer time," Mokimasias said, framing the potential resource savings from direct 911-to-PAD dispatch.

Council questions and concerns: Councilmember Mary Norwood described a recent attempt to use ATL 311 and PAD for a visible outreach to a resident in distress and reported a poor experience with the interactive-voice-response system. "The IVR is miserable," Norwood said, adding she could not complete a 311 submission and that PAD/311 did not send help when a person was in the middle of the street. Mokimasias said PAD is dispatched through ATL 311 (not operated by PAD) and offered to review the recorded call and continue debriefs with 311 staff.

Councilmember Isha Collins asked what PAD does differently to reduce violent incidents during the summer months; Deputy Chief Collier said APD units were creating summer plans and shifting resources to locations with escalating disputes, and he highlighted PAD's role reconnecting people to services and shelters. Councilmember Antonio Lewis asked for PAD's PAD-pass diversion numbers and for APD allocations of cars and officers by zone; APD agreed to provide car-and-officer allocation figures for December 31, 2024 and for May 27, 2025.

Diversion center and collaboration: PAD and APD described close coordination with the city's 24-hour diversion center, which opened in January 2025. PAD staff said they can transport people to the diversion center and that APD can bring people there for sobering or diversion; PAD reported having embedded care navigation staff at the diversion center so clients can be enrolled in services on-site.

Examples and outcomes: PAD highlighted a long-term client, Downtown Brown, who was enrolled in services, completed a recovery program and moved into housing with a Georgia State Housing voucher. Mokimasias used that case to underscore PAD's care-navigation work: "Over 90 percent of the people we serve are experiencing homelessness when we meet them," she said, and noted coordinated-entry assessments (264) and hotel placements among the team's work.

Operational questions and safety limits: Several council members, including Michael Julian Bond, cautioned that PAD staff should not be sent into situations where they could be endangered and said some low-level trespass calls may involve individuals with serious criminal histories. Mokimasias and Collier emphasized triage: PAD should handle priority-3 calls and nonviolent outreach, while APD remains the lead when traffic, weapons or imminent danger are present.

Requests and next steps: Committee members asked for more data and regular reporting: APD will provide allocation of officers and cars by zone for specified dates; PAD will continue weekly debriefs with 311 and pursue direct-dispatch opportunities for priority-3 calls; council members asked PAD to expand public awareness of the 311/PAD pathway and to develop data dashboards with Neighborhood Nexus to show PAD responses alongside 911 and APD data.

Ending: The presentations ended with staff commitments to follow up on 311 call handling, to share allocation data and to continue cross-agency work to divert appropriate calls to PAD while protecting PAD staff safety when risk is elevated.