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DeKalb Police report shows zero homicides in 2024, highlights technology and social‑work response
Summary
Chief Byrd told the City Council that the DeKalb Police Department recorded zero homicides in 2024 and reported declines in many violent‑crime categories, while stressing the role of license‑plate readers, body cameras, K‑9 units and new social‑worker partnerships.
Chief Byrd, chief of the DeKalb Police Department, presented the department's 2024 annual report to the DeKalb City Council on March 10, saying the city recorded zero homicides in 2024 and showing declines in several violent‑crime categories.
The report, Byrd said, also showed a reduction in confirmed shots‑fired calls from 24 in 2023 to 16 in 2024 and increases in proactive enforcement such as DUI arrests and warrant arrests. "We went from 5 [homicides] in 2023 to 0 in 2024," Byrd said. "This report is reflective of the hard work and professionalism that every member of the agency had displayed on a daily basis."
Why it matters: Byrd framed the 0 homicides statistic as the most important single crime indicator and credited several factors cited in the report: expanded staffing and high‑visibility patrols, interagency medical response that preserved life after violent incidents, new technology such as automated license‑plate readers (LPRs) and security camera footage, and the department's social‑worker program that responds to mental‑health‑related calls.
Byrd described several cases in which cameras and LPRs aided arrests, including a bank robbery captured on a transit bus camera that helped investigators identify and arrest suspects. "When I talk about technology, safety cameras, LPRs, it is extremely effective, and I am glad that we have that technology in the city of DeKalb, which was approved by city council," he said.
The chief said the department increased DUI enforcement (from 74 to 102 arrests year‑over‑year) and carried out targeted prostitution and liquor‑law enforcement details that affect those offense categories. He also noted an increase in some financial crimes and said adult arrests overall rose as officers had more opportunities for proactive enforcement when calls for service declined.
Byrd highlighted programmatic changes the department has made: a social‑worker partnership that allows trained behavioral‑health staff to respond to certain calls, a K‑9 program used to locate illegal firearms, and a community engagement calendar that includes events such as Fun Jam in the Park and Citizens Appreciation Awards. "The key to a safer DeKalb is to continue teamwork between the police department and the community," Byrd said.
Council reaction: Mayor Barnes and multiple aldermen praised the department. Barnes said the council's resource decisions helped the department expand proactive work across the city's zones; another alderman noted the large reduction in calls for service in Zone 1 and credited greater patrol coverage across other areas.
What the report did not resolve: Byrd and council members acknowledged remaining challenges, including domestic‑violence incidents that the chief said require broad community collaboration and continued evidence‑based charging where appropriate.
Ending: The department will continue to report crime data through NIBRS (the federal National Incident‑Based Reporting System) and provide updates to the council; Byrd closed by urging continued cooperation between police and residents to maintain the trends documented in the 2024 report.
