AUGUSTA, Ga () – The Richmond County Sheriff’s Office has implemented its new Downtown Safety Plan, and they are already seeing improvements.

Sheriff Eugene Brantley recently announced a 25% decrease in Part 1 crimes from January 1st through May 10th of this year.

Part 1 crimes are serious crimes including homicides, aggravated assaults, robbery and rape.

Cpt. Danny Whitehead with the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office says everyone was thrilled when the statistics were released.

“Additionally, we’re tackling broader issues like homelessness and panhandling with a comprehensive approach. Overall, seeing a 25% improvement is thrilling for us. We aim to remain proactive as summer approaches, anticipating increased activity and preparing accordingly,” expressed Cpt. Whitehead.

He mentioned that while continuing to patrol all areas of Richmond County, they have deployed deputies in both marked and unmarked vehicles as well as on foot patrols in Downtown Augusta.

Deputies are placed from 5th to 13th street on every block.

Being able to achieve this milestone is a joint effort.

“We’ve enhanced our workforce by forming a HOT team, a homeless task force, and expanding our crime suppression team. We’ve also added more investigators, allowing us to make quicker arrests and solve crimes more swiftly, which contributes to our success,” said Cpt. Whitehead.

The decrease has occurred during Sheriff Brantley’s first 130 days in office, and this is just one of his goals to improve Richmond County.

“We take that time to do exactly what Sheriff Brantley has been talking about, community policing, so not only are they just patrolling and walking, they’re actually interacting and talking with the public while they’re out there,” Cpt. Whitehead said.

He says the Sheriff’s Office is always looking to improve its Safety Plan and their leaders have ideas for the future that will do just that.