The Brookhaven City Council at its March 24 work session meeting heard good news about the city’s year-over-year crime statistics, despite several highly publicized incidents occurring over the past weekend.
Police Chief Brandon Gurley, in the department’s first-quarter report, said that although the city’s population has increased 4.5 percent, crime has actually dropped in nearly every category.
Several of the department’s senior police officials reported on specifics regarding the positive statistics.
Deputy Police Chief John Lewis said total crimes within Brookhaven decreased 12% year over year. Index crimes, a composite of eight serious crimes, have experienced a 20% reduction.
Lewis said he feels two factors have contributed to these positive number – the use of technology and staff retention.
“Retention has gone up significantly since 2022,” Lewis said.
Capt. Abrem Ayana, in charge of innovation, technology, and special projects, discussed the use of technology within the department – Flock cameras, License Plate Readers, and drones as first responders.
Police officials said clearance rates have also increased in almost every index crime category, except burglary and larceny. The caseload for detectives has also decreased, because using technology allows uniform officers to quickly assess real-time situations and make more timely arrests.
Major Jeffrey Gant said the department’s goal, to respond to 911 calls within six minutes or less, was reached during several quarters in 2025.
During the city’s work session, Gurley said this past weekend “was an eventful one for us,” with a parking garage collapse caused by a car fire, and two shootings in the city, unrelated to each other.
“The investments that Brookhaven has made [in technology], as well as our private partners, have generated strong leads that we feel will lead to some arrests in the near future,” Gurley said.
In other action:
- The council heard about a successful Cherry Blossom Festival Run on March 21, with more than 650 runners participating;
- “Sweep the Hooch,” a volunteer cleanup effort, was also held last weekend, with “lots of tires picked up,” said Michael Kelly, the city’s parks & recreation director;
- Officials were reminded that the Cherry Blossom Festival is next weekend, from March 28-29;
- Brookhaven officials reported that they visited the collapsed parking structure on Monday at the Hendrix Apartments, with the most important objective being to ensure that the fire lanes are clear;
- The Brookhaven Public Works department held several pre-bid meetings on sidewalk projects;
- Explore Brookhaven reported that the city’s annual Taste Brookhaven is scheduled for Oct. 1;
- The finance department reported that it is closing out fiscal year 2025, with auditors scheduled to evaluate the books in the following weeks;
- The council listened to a presentation from Steven Chapman, deputy city manager, about proposed policies regarding city-awarded sponsorships.