Macon-Bibb County Mayor Lester Miller unveiled a sweeping violence-prevention plan aimed in part at combating the soaring homicide rate here by uniting police, schools and dozens of local agencies with a common goal: curtailing crime.

Experts say crime across the U.S. in 2020 was like no other year as COVID-19 ravaged the country and protests flared. It was a seesaw of dips for some crimes and spikes for others, such as homicide.