Mayor Reed, city officials discuss Atlanta's summer safety plan
ATLANTA - Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed was joined by other city officials to talk about the city's summer safety plan.
“There is no downside to vigilance when it comes to protecting our personal safety," Mayor Reed said Wednesday morning.
Reed said public safety is his number one priority and historically, crime increases during the summertime.
Mayor Reed and Atlanta Police Chief George Turner announced some strategies aimed at reducing violent crime now that summer is in high gear.
In hard hit areas on the south side, the city will deploy 45 officers whose task will be to stop gun violence and take as many weapons as possible off the street. Chief Turner said it's obvious the city has a problem with too many guns on the street.
In one area, zone 3, murder spiked for a period in which nine homicides occurred during eleven days.
The mayor told parents the city will enforce curfew restrictions. He also said the city will keep its recreation centers open until 7 p.m., six days a week, in an effort to ensure children can have something productive to do.