ATLANTA — In the first meeting of its kind, Mayor Andre Dickens spoke one-on-one with dozens of nightlife business owners on Saturday in an effort to stop the violence that has surrounded the nightlife industry.
The all-day safety training workshop was a part of Mayor Dickens' newly-created nightlife division that launched earlier this month following a rash of crimes in or around Atlanta bars and clubs.
The mayor said the owners of businesses with a history of criminal activity were specifically invited to the event, along with other community leaders.
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“Today, you will see some of the 10 to 15 organizations that have the most incidents of violence," Mayor Dickens said.
Just this month, 11Alive has reported on at least two deadly shootings involving Atlanta's nightlife scene including one that left a 27-year-old dead outside the Dive Bar and Lounge in Buckhead and another where a man was killed inside a parking garage near Midtown bars on Crescent Street.
And on Saturday morning, a woman was shot by a stray bullet walking past a trio of bars in Buckhead on Peachtree Road when an argument escalated to gunfire outside the bars.
The Atlanta Police Department says they have responded to just over 200 incidents involving the city's nightlife this year, with just under 700 in 2021.
“We know we have an opportunity to really and truly get ahead of the trends we saw last year," said Atlanta Police Deputy Chief Timothy Peek.
Organizers used the workshop to equip business owners with alcohol awareness training, proper policy and regulation procedures, as well as tactics to de-escalate violence.
Leaders say they plan to hold a safety workshop every quarter. They say around 170 people were registered for Saturday's workshop.