Statesboro civic leaders had an open discussion with residents about crime in their community on Saturday morning.

City leaders and residents worked together to spot problems and think of ways they might be able to curb violent activity within the community.

“We like to bring everyone to the table when we’re talking about policy,” said Adam Dean, chair for the violence prevention sector of One Boro.

The panel and roundtable discussions were organized by the City’s One Boro commission, which aims to gather public input and transform it into actionable steps.

“We believed it was crucial to re-engage with the community, not only to inform them about the current statistics but more importantly to emphasize that preventing violence is a collective responsibility,” said Dean.

Statesboro police chief Mike Broadhead initiated the conversation by reviewing crime rates in the city, highlighting a decline in robberies over the past ten years. He stated that it is due to the dedicated efforts of their officers to curb such incidents.

“The news over the last decade has been pretty good,” said Broadhead. “That crime continues to ration down. The problem is that perception of crime has gone way up.”

Broadhead tells me social media can make crime appear worse than it actually is. Discussions with residents showed they were concerned about guns and gun safety.

“I resist the idea that the district attorney’s office or the police department or even the public defenders office is responsible for crime,” said Broadhead. “We all have a piece of it we’re working but it’s a community problem so I’m a big fan of the community getting together and trying to find solutions.”

Largely, the group thought education on violence was critical, so that people -especially those that are younger – would know the consequences of their actions, before they do something that could change lives forever.

One Boro’s violence prevention committee has meetings like this twice a year.