Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Last month we published an article addressing the recent increase in gang related gun violence here in Americus and across the country.  Since that article was published the Americus Police Department has partnered with eight other state and local criminal justice organizations to form a joint task force to address these violent crimes.  We have arrested 11 people on serious drug, weapons, and assault charges and have taken over two dozen guns (ranging from handguns to assault rifles) off the street.  More arrests are forthcoming.

Almost all the guns we have seized were stolen, and many of these stolen guns came from vehicles.  This is an area where the public can have a real impact on violent crime.  PLEASE don’t leave guns in your car.  We recognize that many people legally own firearms and like to keep them in their car for self-protection.  Unfortunately, thieves know this and walk through neighborhoods at night checking for unlocked cars with firearms.  We have had agencies from as far away as New York and Illinois seize firearms used in crimes that were originally stolen from Americus.

We will continue to work diligently to identify and arrest suspects who commit violent crime and we are also working to positively impact young men and women in our community and give them the tools they need to reject violence as a means of solving disputes.  We are planning to restart our annual summer camp through the GREAT Program and will be sending out notices to parents encouraging them to register their 5^th and 6^th graders for camp.  We will take every precaution to ensure that students are safe and will require participants to follow CoVID 19 guidelines.  Summer Camp will be our first major step toward resuming our normal community programs and we hope to resume teaching the GREAT curriculum in our local schools this Fall.

The members of the Americus Police Department appreciate the tremendous community support that is expressed to us daily through encouraging words, thoughtful deeds and hours of volunteer participation.  We are currently working with our community partners to sponsor a series of community forums aimed at identifying tangible ways that we can provide meaningful educational and recreational opportunities for our young people.  There are many people in this community who want to make a difference.  We hope to bring those people together into a unified effort to ensure the success of future generations.

Mark A. Scott
Chief of Police