MACON, Ga. — Bibb County Coroner Leon Jones says the county's anti-violence plan is working, and he has statistics to prove it.
Compared to this time last year, Macon's seen a large reduction in homicides since January.
Last year, the county saw 44 homicides by Aug. 5. This year, there were only 29.
While Jones says losing one person to gun violence is too many, he believes the Macon Violence Prevention Plan is working, and this is his proof.
"We've got a lot of good stakeholders in that program, and a lot of good citizens. So, it's working," Jones said.
Announced in the summer of 2021, the Macon Violence Prevention program was supposed to help fix crime problems. A record-breaking year for homicides in 2022 had some questioning whether it's working.
"We didn't get in this fix overnight. We're not going to get out overnight. But look at what it's done," Jones said.
Much of the program focuses on groups that target different aspects of the community from mental health to education. Many work with children and teenagers.
"We deal with high-risk individuals who may have either been affected by gun violence, or part of it," said Dominque Johnson, who runs Cure Violence Macon.
Cure Violence focuses primarily on Pleasant Hill.
"We just go into that space, into that block. And we try to say, 'No more shooting. No more killing," Johnson said.
He says with his group and all the others, the improved numbers aren't surprising.
"If you just look at the work that has been done in Pleasant Hill alone, it shows that it works," Johnson said.
Since MVP officially got started, the county has poured millions into violence prevention programs. In 2022, they gave $625,000 to 25 different organizations. This year, they gave out $860,000 to 31 groups.
Cure Violence still has county funding, but Mayor Lester Miller says they have not been renewed this year.
MVP doesn't just focus on mentorship and outreach opportunities. It also incorporates new law enforcement partnerships, like the new GBI office in downtown Macon.
Miller says the county's push to eliminate blight is also part of the program.