Accolades for the Columbus Police Department continue to pour in after the department was named the Georgia Chapter of the FBI National Academy Associates’ Phyllis Goodwin Agency of the Year. They were nominated for Agency of the Year by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. State Representative Teddy Reese along with members of the Columbus Legislative Delegation presented police with a resolution Tuesday congratulating the department for winning the award.
House Resolution 1250 is legislation sponsored by Rep. Reese who commended police for a dramatic decline in the local crime rate. “It is extremely impressive and I think that credit goes to every individual law enforcement official that works here for the city of Columbus,” Reese said.
“Everybody that takes the time to build relationships in our community, all of them that take the time to work with the folks in our community, our young folks, our senior citizens, our veterans, everyone. It takes a village to move forward, and it takes relationships to make that happen and they’re doing it. They are doing a phenomenal job at it and we’re just so happy. I don’t think anybody will argue against a safe Columbus. We all want a safe Columbus. We want a great Columbus and we’re so excited about that.”
According to the latest data some Part 1 crimes such as shootings and stabbings are down by 50% in Columbus. Overall, the city has seen a 30% reduction in violent crime. Assistant Chief Lance Deaton said the numbers show “decreases that we’ve never seen before.” Chief Deaton said the recent honors are important and agrees with Reese that credit for the decrease in crime should go to all members of the department.
“They mean a lot, but I think more importantly it represents the work that our men and women are putting forth every single day on the street. It’s one thing for us to stand up here and receive the accolades but the work is being done by the men and women on the street every day and they really should be the ones who get the credit for that,” said Deaton.
