City leaders hold news conferenceATLANTA (CBS ATLANTA) -
Monday, the Atlanta City Council announced the formation of a new task force designed to fight crime on and around local colleges and universities.
The task force will work with leaders of local universities for 30 days to analyze crime data and develop a plan to slow it down before the start of the fall semester.
"We want to make it very clear the city council is serious about this issue and we want to make a difference," said Ceasar Mitchell, Atlanta City Council President.
The creation of the task force falls on the heels of a rash of robberies on and around Georgia Tech's campus.
Just last Monday, Atlanta police rolled out a new partnership with Georgia Tech police. An Atlanta police officer is now patrolling campus with a Tech officer in this new unit.
Most students voice support for the initiative, but others remained doubtful it would work.
"It's always gonna be a higher rate of crime because we're in the city, as opposed to rural areas," said Winston Williams.
Students at Georgia Tech, Georgia State and the Atlanta University Center experienced a high number of robberies, car break-ins and assaults during the 2010-2011 academic year, according to a news release by the Atlanta City Council.
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