This 30-day initiative can help Columbus cut crime even further, police say
The Columbus Police Department announced Tuesday the beginning of an operation to help deter the spike in crime typically seen in the area as warmer weather begins.
The 30-day endeavor, named “Operation Overlook,” will lead to more officers patrolling the streets of Columbus.
“Typically when school gets out and the weather warms up, we have an uptick in crime,” Columbus Police Chief Stoney Mathis said in a news conference Tuesday.
Mathis said the city has successfully reduced crime to this point in the year, with a 26.9% drop in crime rate compared to last year. He believes the city could cut crime by 50% by the end of the year with this initiative.
“If we hit a 50% reduction in crime, we truly could be one of the top 10 safest cities in Georgia. And that’s my ultimate goal,” Mathis said.
The “all hands on deck” initiative will have officers on the street who would not normally be there.
“I have about 109 detectives that over the next 30 days are going to be augmenting some of the patrol initiatives out on the street,” Mathis said.
He said these officers will be in uniform in high crime areas and will be making traffic stops. He also said the department will have a select group of officers in undercover vehicles looking for criminals committing crime.
Mathis said the department will be utilizing some of the police officers “a couple of days a week” who normally work violent crimes and financial crimes.
“It’s not going to take them away from their regular duties for long, maybe a day or two a week, but it is going to have some type of impact on that,” Mathis said.
Columbus officials want parents to get involved
Mathis and Columbus Mayor Skip Henderson stressed the importance of community involvement in this crime initiative. While the initiative is aimed at reducing all crime, Mathis asked the parents of children in the area to search their children’s rooms and cars over the next 30 days to help reduce youth crime.
“If they find guns or drugs, even if the gun is stolen, call us and we’ll come pick it up, no questions asked,” Mathis said.
“We can’t do it alone as police, but as a group, as a community, if we work together, we will reduce the crime rate,” Mathis said.
Henderson said the initiative has the full support of Columbus Council and can “tremendously” improve the lives of Columbus residents.
“The success of this is going to be dictated by what you do to help these police officers do their job,” Henderson said, addressing the citizens of Columbus.
Mathis and Henderson both addressed possible critiques of the operation as “over-policing.”
“I get those critics calling me, but those are the true minority. The majority of people in Columbus would love to see the crime reduced,” Mathis said.
“This is the type of initiative, in my opinion, I would rather be accused of overdoing it a little bit than have somebody else get injured on the street,” Henderson said.
This story was originally published May 13, 2025 at 4:54 PM.