Deputy Jason Smith of the Atlanta Police Department told the Public Safety & Legal Administration Committee on Jan. 12 that overall crime trended downward in 2025 and the department will continue focused, targeted enforcement and alternative responses.

“We're gonna end up down around somewhere around 7%,” Smith said, adding the city recorded a third consecutive year of reductions in homicides and shootings. He singled out a roughly 38% decrease in motor vehicle thefts as a notable accomplishment.

Smith described two recent enforcement successes over the holiday period in which officers arrested individuals found with narcotics and a stolen firearm, and he said officers responded to several First Amendment marches without reported incidents. He identified dwelling shootings — incidents that often involve densely populated residences — as a priority for 2026 and said APD may adjust investigative approaches for those cases.

The Deputy highlighted the Center for Diversion Services as a non-arrest option for certain quality-of-life offenses. “We finished the year with 1,200 referrals,” Smith said, referring to people diverted to case management rather than arrested. He described diversion as an alternative when cases fit the criteria for that program, not a blanket replacement for arrests.

Committee chair Councilmember Andrea L. Boone and several members asked for more localized crime data and follow-up on encampment locations and quality-of-life concerns. Smith offered to brief new members on how to read APD statistics and said Majors Canton and Wolfolk would coordinate outreach and data for specific corridors identified by councilmembers.

The presentation closed with APD offering continued coordination with PAD, code enforcement and the mayor’s office on unsheltered outreach and on clearing encampments that involve state-owned property.