Peach Tree Times

As crime rates continue to rise across the state, the numbers are looming large over the hotly contested Senate race between incumbent Sen. Rafael Warnock, a Democrat, and his Republican challenger Herschel Walker. 

Homicides are on the rise across the state, according to Fox News, with 20,900 slayings occurring in 2021, 4.3% more than the previous year. The network noted that homicides skyrocketed by 30% in 2020, though the network noted that the FBI is left to fill in gaps because police have not submitted complete figures.  

“We’re seeing a disturbing violent crime surge across the country,” Paul Abbate, deputy director of the FBI, told Fox News. “I know you’re seeing it too.”

Amid the rise in violent crime, many are pointing a finger at Warnock, including Ronna McDaniel, who penned an op-ed in The Hill noting that the senator pushed for changes to the bail system in Atlanta, resulting in a 100% increase in offenders failing to appear in court. 

“He’s voted to confirm Biden’s soft-on-crime Supreme Court pick,” McDaniel wrote in the editorial. “He’s demonized our men and women in blue, calling them ‘thugs’ and ‘bullies.’” 

In the op-ed, McDaniel maintains that Warnock has done more for criminals than his law-abiding constituents, and argues Walker as a better alternative to the senator, who is seeking a full term after winning the election in 2020 to fill a vacant seat. Warnock did not respond to a request for an interview for this article. Moreover, the Associated Press noted in a report that many police departments just can’t keep up with the crime rate, and George Spaulding, who lost his son five years ago, remains supportive of law enforcement in his hometown of Portland, Oregon. 

“We’re not dissatisfied with the Police Bureau because I think they’re doing the best they can,” Spaulding told the AP. “They are just overwhelmed. It’s insane.”

The rise in crime and the call to reform policing may be driving many officers into retirement with Philadelphia police spokesman Eric Gripp noting it is an issue nationwide, and the Wall Street Journal reported that crime is also a hot topic in New Orleans, where shop owner Ibrahim Rabee no longer feels safe after seven people were killed near his business this year alone. Once threatened by a person with a gun, the newspaper reported that Rabee called police, who didn’t show up until the next day. The newspaper also reported that the city is saddled with the highest homicide rate in the nation, with 41 homicides per 100,000 residents. The Crescent City is also facing a wave of officers leaving the department, according to the report. 

In Georgia, according to the FBI Crime Data Explorer, there were 6,200 violent crimes and 7,280 offenses filed by 125 law enforcement agencies statewide. By 2021, there were 26,159 violent crimes and 33,550 offenses reported by 447 agencies across the state. Macrotrends reported that the 2020 crime rate was 6.52, up from 5.07 in 2019, a 28.64% increase.