#13INVESTIGATES — After a near-record number of homicides and an uptick in violent crime as a whole in Macon-Bibb this year, we put together a map to see where these crimes are happening.
"If you look at anything for a year, it's overwhelming," says Bibb Sheriff's Office Lt. Michael Kenirey.
He says it's difficult to decipher trends or patterns by searching through a map of nearly 800 violent crime locations, and that's why the sheriff's office has started looking at the data broken down by month and week.
You can see an interactive maps of all those crimes on Google Maps here:
Deputies then use that information to come up with a strategy during their monthly command staff meetings.
"You might look at the map one week and see there's more property crimes and entering autos over here, and at the same time, you might see there are more street robberies over here," said Kenirey.
He says the patterns shift each month, but there are some areas where crime is a constant.
"The Montpelier area is usually a hotbed," he said.
That's where Wade White set up his barbershop, Razor Line. He says he hasn't had any trouble at his business, but the same can't be said for those around him.
"A lot of times it happens late at night, when we're closed," he said.
White says he has noticed deputies stepping up their efforts in the area though.
"They're trying to do more surveillance and have more presence in the community, but it's still a tough task," he said. "It takes a neighborhood."
That's why White is making his own plans to help cut crime. He's started a mentoring program to teach kids lessons on barbering and life.
"[It] gives them a better way to handle the peer pressure of gun violence and drugs," said White.
Kenirey says it's the work of people like White and other neighborhood groups that will make the biggest impact, especially when the sheriff's office is stretched thin.
"One of the issues that always comes up is our manpower," said Kenirey.
The Bibb Sheriff's Office says they're short roughly 100 deputies. If that number continues to go up, Lt. Kenirey says he fears that violent crime will too.
Sheriff David Davis says they must use their resources to the fullest to minimize any impacts on their work.
"We typically blend regularly scheduled officers with a supplemental number of overtime officers. By doing this we are better able to meet our policing needs," Davis said.
Kenirey says they're also looking into ways to use more technology, but until then, they'll have to continue playing the numbers game.