Homicides drop 23% in Atlanta through first four months of 2025

Mayor Andre Dickens also said the crime numbers show the collaborative efforts are paying off.

“This dramatic reduction is the result of focused investments in community policing, youth programs, and stronger partnerships between law enforcement and neighborhoods,” the mayor’s office said in a Facebook post.

In late April, the city’s public safety training center opened after years of protests. City leaders, including Dickens and APD Chief Darin Schierbaum, have argued the new complex was desperately needed to train both officers and firefighters.

Additionally, the three At-Promise Centers continue to succeed at getting young people off the street and on track with their education and career goals, and the mayor’s “Midnight Basketball” program provides an outlet in the evenings.

In 2024, Atlanta police investigated 127 homicides, down from 135 in 2023. In 2022, APD investigated 170 homicides, up from 161 and 157 during the prior two years.

After the homicide unit handled 13 cases in January, the number dropped to three in February, compared to 13 in February 2024.

“That means more people are alive,” Dickens said at his State of the City address in February. “We’re going to keep doing that — next year I want to be the safest major city in America.”

So far this year, Atlanta is recording a bigger drop in violent deaths than surrounding metro agencies. Many suburban agencies say their homicide rates mostly mirror the numbers from the same period last year.

Gwinnett County police reported 13 homicides during the first four months of this year and last, while Cobb County police investigated 11, up one from the same time period in 2024, the agencies said. The Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office has investigated one homicide this year after none in 2024. The Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office hasn’t investigated a homicide yet this year and recorded one last year.

The Sandy Springs and Roswell police departments each reported no homicides this year or last.

Although Atlanta’s homicide numbers followed the national trend among large cities of declining the past two years, the city’s drop was less than the average decline of 40 cities across the country, according to a January study by the Council on Criminal Justice. Many cities continued to see a rise in violence the past two years, but Atlanta avoided that, according to Ernesto Lopez, CCJ senior research specialist.

Despite the decrease in homicides, Atlanta police report an increase in other crimes against people, including rape and aggravated assault. During the first four months of 2025, five additional rape cases were reported over the same period last year, while aggravated assaults increased about 8%.

Robberies have also increased, but all other property crimes have decreased, including a 41% drop in vehicle thefts, according to APD data.

The summer months are traditionally violent ones in Atlanta and elsewhere. But plans are already underway to change the pattern, according to Atlanta leaders. Last summer, “Operation Heat Wave” increased officers’ presence, particularly in places such as city parks. The department’s mounted patrol and bicycle units were also active, along with two new helicopters, the department said.

Details about this summer’s crime-fighting initiative will be announced in the coming weeks, according to Atlanta police.

“Criminals do not get a pass in the summertime in Atlanta, Georgia,” APD Chief Darin Schierbaum said while discussing last summer’s operation. “We will make sure that we’re working very hard to hold individuals accountable that want to take advantage of the longer days to cause mayhem here in the city.”

Although the overall number of homicides is a positive sign, Atlanta police also are finding success at solving the cases. Out of the first 25 homicides of the year, only a handful remained open investigations in mid-April, the department said.