The Atlanta Religious Mobilization Against Crime (ARMAC) has been formed at the suggestion of Mayor Jackson to bring together the religious leadership of the city in a common effort to fight crime. ARMAC will serve as an advisory board to the Commissioner of Public Safety, Dr. Lee P. Brown. The co-chairpersons of ARMAC are the Reverend Cameron Alexander, Baptist Convention, and the Reverend Jim Beuis, Church of Christ. The first meeting of the group on September 13, attended by some 300 clergy, heard a wide range of suggestions for action.

The executive committee of ARMAC, which includes the denominational heads of the Christian, Jewish, and Moslem communities, has reduced the suggestions to several major objectives. October is to be declared “Crime Prevention Month,” with all religious groups being asked to seek the involvement of the congregations in a common effort against crime. The theme for the month is “Crime Is Everybody’s Business.” It is recommended that all the ministers preach on matters related to this theme during the month of October.

Archbishop Thomas A. Donnellan has been active in ARMAC since its inception, and he is a member of the executive committee, he expressed his desire to have all the Catholic clergy in the city of Atlanta support the efforts of ARMAC. The archbishop expressed his concern that the community seek to eliminate the root causes of crime -- such as, unemployment, availability of handguns, violence portrayed by the mass media, consumerism, and crippling poverty.

A second citywide meeting of ministers has been set for Thursday, September 27, at 2 p.m. at the Civic Center. At that time, the executive committee of ARMAC will detail plans for Crime Prevention Month and provide resource materials to the ministers.

The kick-off for Crime Prevention Month in each church will be Sunday, September 30, with a sermon on the theme, “Live and Let Live.” The objective of the month is to sensitize congregations to their responsibilities in helping to rid the city of crime.

ARMAC will be providing ministers with many practical suggestions as to how their congregations can be involved. In particular, it will be recommended that congregations cooperate with existing programs within the Department of Public Safety especially the SAFE program (Safer Atlanta for Everyone).

Mayor Jackson and Commissioner Brown have promised the full cooperation of the Department of Public Safety with cooperating religious groups.

In addition to the overall thrust of Crime Prevention Month, ARMAC is planning several specific actions. A committee of ARMAC, headed by Bishop Joseph C. Coles of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church and Dr. Donald Newby of the Christian Council, has begun to formulate plans for the cooperation of churches with other organizations within the city to combat unemployment.

With 15,000-16,000 adults unemployed in Atlanta, it is thought that this is a major factor to the increase in crime. The unemployment problem is expected to grow with a recession in the economy.

A committee under the leadership of Dr. Grant Shockley of the Interdenominational Theological Center is to work with Dr. Jack Mallory of the Domestic Crisis Intervention Team to provide a program of crisis counseling training for ministers. This program is to equip ministers with the necessary skills to provide crisis counseling in domestic situations. It is felt that ministers can make an especially important contribution in this area since over 60 percent of all homicides are domestic. The committee’s goal is to offer the first session of this training during October.

ARMAC plans to work aggressively for handgun control legislation during the upcoming session of the Georgia Legislature. One-third of all violent crimes and one-half of all murders in the United States are committed with handguns. ARMAC would like to see licenses being required for the purchase of handguns, waiting periods being enforced before purchase of handguns, a criminal check being made before issuance of licenses, and that only public safety employees be allowed to carry concealed weapons.

ARMAC is encouraging ministers to ride with police patrols during the month of October, as a means of becoming familiar with the work of the police and the crime scene in Atlanta.