Georgia is a beautiful state with a lot of history and culture. But not all of its cities and towns are safe and quiet. Indeed, a new study says that a small town in Georgia is now the third most dangerous place in the whole state.
The Village of Pelham
There are about 4,000 people living in the town of Pelham, which is in Mitchell County and 35 miles south of Albany. Workers on the railroad built the town in 1881. It was named for Major John Pelham, a Confederate leader who died in the Civil War.
The center of town is old, and many of the buildings there are on the National Register of old Places. These include the Pelham Commercial Historic District, the Hand Trading Company Building, and the Pelham Carnegie Library. The people who live in the town are also very different. Most of them are African American, but there is also a large Hispanic group.
Pelham has been dealing with crime, poverty, and social issues for years, even though it seems nice on the outside. A lot of people in the town live below the government poverty line, and the median household income is one of the lowest in the state. It’s also hard to find work in this town; more than 10% of people who could be working are not. A lot of people in the town also drop out of school; only 65% of the people who live there have a high school diploma or better.
The Rise in Crime
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s most recent report says that there were 287 crimes in Pelham in 2023. That’s a crime rate of 7,175 crimes per 100,000 people. Pelham is now the third most dangerous place in Georgia, after College Park and East Point. The report also says that in 2023, there were 6 killings, 12 rapes, 25 robberies, 64 aggravated assaults, 87 burglaries, 88 thefts, and 5 car thefts in Pelham.
The study shows that Pelham’s crime rate went up by 27.4% since 2022, when it was 5,630 crimes per 100,000 people. The report also says that Pelham’s violent crime rate rose by 32.6% from 2022 to 2023. In 2022, there were 818 violent crimes per 100,000 people. This number includes murder, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault.
Some of the things that may have led to the rise in crime in Pelham are the lack of jobs, the low level of education, drug dealing, gang activity, and police officers who aren’t doing their jobs well. There aren’t many industries and businesses in the town, and most of the economy depends on farming, which is subject to changes in the market and weather.
A lot of kids drop out of school or don’t go to college, so the town also has a low level of education. The town is also a major hub for drug trade, especially methamphetamine, which makes crime and drug abuse worse.
There are also a lot of gangs in town, like the Crips, the Bloods, and the Gangster Disciples. These groups fight over territory and shoot people. The town also doesn’t have enough police officers—only 12 work for the whole town’s residents. The police force also doesn’t have the latest technology, training, or tools to fight crime successfully.
The Work Done to Get Better
Even though things are bad, some Pelham residents and government leaders are working to make the town better and lower the crime rate. These are some of the things that have been done or are being planned:
Economic growth: Pelham wants to make its economy more diverse and give its people more jobs. This means bringing in new businesses, putting money into infrastructure and tourism, and helping out small businesses and companies in the area. Poverty, unemployment, and inequality would go down if the economy grew and stayed stable. The town’s quality of life and social harmony would also improve.
Education and training: Pelham is trying to make its schools better and give its students more chances. This means giving schools more money and better facilities, adding more academic and vocational programs, and giving more college scholarships and other forms of financial help. Residents would have better skills and knowledge if they got more education and training. This would also prepare them for how the job market and the world economy are changing.
To stop people from using drugs and help those who do, Pelham is working to fix the town’s drug situation. To do this, more drug prevention and education programs need to be made available and easy for people to get to. Drug treatment and recovery services also need more resources and help, and law enforcement, health care, and social service agencies need to work together better to stop drug use and trafficking.
Pelham is improving its police force and its ties with the community through community policing and engagement. This means hiring more police officers and giving them better tools, training, and technology. It also means putting community policing strategies and practices into action and getting people involved in projects to stop crime and solve problems.
In Conclusion
Pelham is a small town in Georgia that has become the third most dangerous place in the state because of drug crime, poverty, and being cut off from other people. The crime problem hurts the town’s image, way of life, and ability to work together. Pelham is not lost, though. People are working to make things better and make the town a safer and better place to live.