By Andria Simmons
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
ATLANTA — Police made their presence known throughout the metro Atlanta area Wednesday with a combination of roadblocks, extra patrols and arrest warrant sweeps.
About 30 municipal, county and state law enforcement agencies in Clayton, DeKalb, Fulton, Henry and Gwinnett counties participated in the first joint effort of its kind, which was dubbed “Operation Street Sweep.”
The joint detail was designed to increase police visibility in high-crime areas and get offenders off the streets.
Maj. Debra Williams, who supervises the special enforcement section for the Atlanta Police Department, spearheaded the operation.
“A lot of the jurisdictions experience the same crime problems, so we wanted to come together as one unit,” Williams said. “For us all to come together and operate on one plan of action is unheard of, really, because we all have different agendas. Today we all have the same agenda.”
Officer Carey Roberts of Snellville Police Department called it an “all-out blitz on the criminal element” — the type of large-scale operation he said is usually impossible for smaller municipal departments to conduct because of limited manpower.
The Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Department loaned nine deputies to Snellville for the operation and provided similar assistance to other cities.
Preliminary results from the operation indicated that officers made more than 100 arrests and issued about 500 citations on Wednesday, Williams said. Among those arrested were 11 probation violators, several drug and weapons violation suspects and one murder suspect, 22-year-old Rodqueas Bowen. Police said Bowen was allegedly involved in a fatal altercation at 2637 Old Hapeville Road in April. Bowen was arrested in a roadblock on University Avenue, Williams said.
Copyright 2009 Atlanta Journal-Constitution