The Lenox Square Mall in Buckhead, Atlanta is dangerous now?

Earlier this month, Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Christopher Wray told the Senate Judiciary Committee that the pandemic and police recruiting and staffing played roles in the violent crime spikes in Atlanta and other major cities.

“The violent crime problem over the last year in particular, 2020, is something that is a great concern that we are very warily keeping our eye on,” Mr. Wray said.

Interim Police Chief Rodney Bryant, who was appointed to the post in June, has said he is committed to new policing approaches while also working to reduce violent crime. In January, Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and Chief Bryant announced a series of reform measures, including putting more resources into enforcement against gangs and gun violence, creating a new public-safety academy to train officers in new policing methods and working harder to recruit and retain officers.

Atlanta Police Department spokesman Sgt. John Chafee said in a statement the rise in violent crime came while “we were dealing with increased hostility toward law enforcement and a decreased sense of trust toward police. Atlanta, as well as many other cities, saw an increase in officers leaving the job, further adding to the challenges faced in keeping our communities safe.”

The department currently has about 1,700 sworn employees, down from the 2,046 it is authorized to have, according to the department. New recruits account for 89 of the employees.

Sgt. Chafee said the pace of officers leaving the department has slowed and its recruitment efforts are paying off, though there is still work to be done.

The crime wave has caused friction between Mayor Bottoms’s administration and the city council. In December, a 7-year-old girl was shot as she rode in her family’s car near Phipps Plaza, a Buckhead shopping mall, and died days later.

Howard Shook, the longtime city councilman for the area, wrote an open letter to the Bottoms administration, criticizing its leadership. Mr. Shook said in an interview that the administration hasn’t done enough to respond to the crime problem, while residents have overwhelmingly supported his stand.

“Nothing that I’ve done in 20 years has engendered such support,” he said.

Mayor Bottoms’s office didn’t respond to requests for comment.

Atlanta City Council President Felicia Moore said in an interview that the city needs to balance supporting police and making sure residents’ rights are protected. Residents are pressing for more officers to hit the streets, she said.

“The criminals read the news and watch the TV,” she said. “They know you are down officers.”

Matt Brill, 41, who has lived in Buckhead since 2002, was returning from getting a pizza for his family last summer when a man followed him home. When the man pulled a rifle from his car, Mr. Brill quickly ran into his house and called the police. The man drove away.

Mr. Brill said he has no plans to move yet, but he said some neighbors are thinking of leaving.

“You kind of are hopeful that this is a near-term trend,” he said. “At first it’s just a one-off, but then it keeps happening and you wonder, are we just stupid for staying here?”

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