Officers from each of the Savannah-Chatham police department’s five precincts and its special operations division have been organized into a team to curb street robberies and other violence.
As they reported for duty Wednesday afternoon, members of the special response team were tasked by Interim Chief Julie Tolbert and Interim Assistant Chief Terry Enoch with being visible in certain “hot spot” areas of the community in the hopes of deterring crime.
“The public’s outcry has been about being transparent and being visible and getting them out of the cars and on foot patrol and on bicycle patrol, and that’s exactly what we intend to do,” Tolbert said.
She said an increased presence of uniformed officers might make people think twice before committing violent acts.
Recently, street robberies have been up nearly jurisdiction-wide.
“During this time of year, we do see some spikes in Part 1 crimes,” said Enoch, who organized the response team. “We’ve had a rash of street robberies in the downtown area. We see a trend around this time in November and December when we see spikes in this.”
According to the most recent crime statistics available from the police department, there were 34 street robberies reported in Savannah and unincorporated Chatham County in the 28-day period ending Friday. During the previous 28-day period, 26 were reported and 238 have been reported this year. Though street robberies have risen in the past month, there have not been as many reported this year as by the same time in 2012, when 275 had been logged.
During the most recent 28-day period, West Chatham Precinct saw one street robbery, Downtown Precinct saw 13, Central Precinct saw six, and the Southside and Islands precincts saw seven each.
Reported rapes were also on the rise in some precincts over about the last month. During the 28-day period ending Friday, nine rapes were reported — five of them in Southside Precinct. Thirty-six rapes have been reported jurisdiction-wide this year.
Aggravated assaults with guns are up for the year. As of Friday, 143 such cases in Savannah and unincorporated Chatham County had been reported as opposed to 117 by the same time in 2012.
“I want these guys to really focus on violent crime,” Tolbert said. “And especially during the holiday season, generally we experience an increase in violent crime, particularly entering autos and things of that nature, so we want them to stay focused on preventing those types of crimes from occurring.”
The Savannah Area Regional Intelligence Center, which falls under the police department’s criminal investigations division, is also being incorporated into the task force as team members will get daily briefings on crime trends to help them decide where to dedicate their focus.
“They’re going to brief on a daily basis, and they’re going to work based on patterns and trends that develop on a daily basis as well,” Tolbert said. “... Normally, when we put together a task force of this nature during the holiday season, they usually end up netting really good, solid arrests, so we anticipate the same thing happening this year.”
NIGHTTIME SAFETY
Savannah-Chatham police suggest residents and visitors take the following precautions when walking at night:
• Walk in groups.
• Walk in well-lit areas and keep away from lanes.
• Leave valuables, including cellphones, at home or out of sight.
• If you are approached by a robber, do not resist and call 911 once you make it to safety.