With a 41 percent increase in homicides and facing serious financial problems, commissioners of DeKalb County, Ga., fear a national spotlight on cable television will cause the county even more damage, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The A&E reality crime show “The First 48” has been filming the county police homicide unit for several weeks and plans to air the shows later this year.
County commissioners say they didn't sign off on the filming and are trying to intervene. “I am absolutely not in agreement with being highlighted in that show. I think it is poor for our image, not good for economic development and just not a good thing,” Commissioner Lee May said. “I'm going to talk to the CEO about this and see what he can do.” County officials agreed that the show could film throughout 2011 with the option to renew for up to four more years. Under the agreement, producers follow around DeKalb's homicide detectives and document the first 48 hours of a slaying investigation as officers try to solve the crime. Producers chose DeKalb because of its murder clearance rate, around 71 percent compared with a national average for counties this size about 60 percent.
http://www.ajc.com/news/dekalb/dekalb-worried-about-crime-838664.html