NEWS BRIEF: Police create new tracking unit for repeat offenders
“We are literally giving them a scarlet letter…”
Repeat offenders will recieve greater scrutiny under a new tracking system developed by the Atlanta Police Department. In partnership with the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office and the District Attorney’s Office, the APD is rolling out the Repeat Offender Tracking Unit, targeting individuals who have at least three felony convictions. According to Mayor Andre Dickens, about 30 percent of the arrests made each week by police are repeat offenders.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said members of the unit will have access to each other’s files, so that everyone who works on a particular case will be aware of the offender’s criminal history as they go through the judicial process.
“We are literally giving them a scarlet letter so that the prosecutors and investigators who touch these files know that this is a case where we need to pay more attention and make sure that justice is actually served,” Willis said. axios.com