Georgia Southern University Police join Statesboro-Bulloch County Crime Suppression Team
Georgia Southern recently joined a special task force to fight crime in the area, blurring the line between the campus and the community.
In January 2014, the Statesboro Police Department and Bulloch County Sheriff’s office merged two crime suppression units to form a multi-jurisdictional Statesboro-Bulloch Crime Suppression Team. In an unprecedented move, Georgia Southern University Police joined this partnership this past July, and assigned two officers to serve on the force. To date, the Crime Suppression Team has been extremely successful in the apprehension of violent felons, burglary, and illicit drug violators.
“If you intend to commit crime in Bulloch County, this team is going to be after you,” said Georgia Southern President Dr. Brooks Keel. “It does blur the lines between the university campus, the Statesboro city limits and the rest of Bulloch County.”
Statesboro Director of Public Safety Wendell Turner says the team is already having an effect on crime in the area. In 2014, all robberies were down by 35% from the previous year, burglaries decreased by 33%, sexual assaults – including rape – were down 18%, motor vehicle theft down 49%, and all theft down cumulatively by 17%.
“Additional police officers on the streets, newly developed partnerships, including the Statesboro-Bulloch County Crime Suppression Team, organizational improvements, and increased community programs and awareness have made a tremendous difference that is reflected in these statistics,” Turner said.
Some reporting in this article originally appeared on WTOC.
Posted in Archive, Press Releases
