Repeat offenders causing problems for Atlanta police

ATLANTA — Atlanta Police Chief George Turner says his officers have arrested a few hundred offenders more than 7,000 times.

Turner says repeat offenders are a big problem in Atlanta and they are working on a plan to combat the issue. He says they are arresting the same individuals dozens of times, sometimes more than 100 times.

“Out of the 481 individuals we have arrested, they had a total of more than 7,000 arrests,” said Turner. “It's clear to us that we target the right people.”

Turner says his officers are doing their jobs, but there's only so much that can be done to keep crime numbers down with that type of statistics.

Turner mentioned one man in specific named Larry Love. According to police, Love has been arrested more than 108 times. Channel 2’s Craig Lucie found Love is also listed as Larry Collins in Fulton County Jail records. Lucie counted and found that police have charged Collins 141 times. His charges range from shoplifting and robbery to burglary and cocaine possession.

“Individuals are not given the max sentence,” said Turner.

Atlanta police say Love was recently released on probation. Turner says it's the chronic repeat offenders, like Love, who officers on the streets constantly handcuff.

“It's frustrating to keep officers motivated to go after the right person and held accountable and then have that person back,” said Turner. “We've got to get it right.”

When asked how he planned to do that, Turner said people should pay attention to plea agreements.

“If you look at the cases that are going to trial, we are concerned about that to some extent,” he said.

Turner says they have been working with a task force, along with Mayor Kasim Reed. They are meeting every two weeks and should have some recommendations and solutions to hold these repeat offenders accountable.

WSBTV