Police say a task force created to combat recent violence in Savannah is composed of veteran former detectives, SWAT officers and others who have working knowledge of criminals.
“These guys are highly motivated,” Savannah-Chatham police Maj. Richard Zapal said Wednesday. “They’re volunteers, and they have specific experience that’s really very relevant with dealing with some of the violent criminals we’ve been dealing with lately.”
Over the weekend, metro’s violent crime task force made 35 arrests and took nine weapons off the streets. Fifteen of those arrests were for felonies, and six of the weapons were stolen.
Last weekend marked the second time the task force was utilized. When it operated for 10 days at the end of October, the task force netted 16 felony arrests and captured a shooting suspect.
In total over the two periods, the task force has conducted 31 felony arrests, 47 misdemeanor arrests, issued 124 traffic citations, recovered 20 guns and a stolen vehicle, and officers stopped and interviewed nearly 250 people, said Julian Miller, metro police spokesman.
Police on the operation work overtime. Zapal said they work in areas where analysts believe — and their own experience tells them — crime is likely to occur. The task force is part of the broader Operation Cease Fire that also included initiatives such as Code Blue and Quick Reaction Force, Zapal said.
Officers are not taken off regular patrol beats for the initiative. Zapal said the task force, which is led by Southside Precinct Lt. Ashley Brown, is built from the ground up by officers who want to make a difference in response to recent violence.
“It means a great deal because they know who to look for, what to look for, where to look,” he said. “It just covers everything.”
The task force’s latest operation ran after a weekend during which metro police responded to nine shootings over three days and a week during which a 2-year-old girl was shot to death and a 6-year-old girl wounded in a shooting. A 12-year-old boy was shot and killed Saturday.
Zapal said he could not comment on any ongoing investigations.
The major said many people who commit violent crimes are known to police.
“It’s mostly people who have been in trouble before,” he said. “The only accurate predictor of future violent crime is past violent crime behavior.”
Zapal said police still need members of the community to call in with information when they see crimes occur as officers continue to crack down on criminal activity.
“We (will) continue to make arrests ... and educate the community and let them know what’s going on so they can be our eyes and ears,” he said.
HELP SOLVE CRIME
Police ask anyone with information on shootings or other crime in Chatham County to call CrimeStoppers at 912-234-2020 or text CRIMES (274637) using the keyword CSTOP2020. Tipsters remain anonymous and may qualify for a cash reward. Investigators can be reached confidentially at 912-525-3124.