South Fulton public safety plan includes district precincts, increased transparency
 |
|
Several Fulton County Police officers were willing to trade patches to join the South Fulton Police Department. The city is making public safety a priority. (Photo Credit: City of South Fulton)
|
SOUTH FULTON CITY, GA.-City manager Odie Donald II presented a brief public safety plan recently to address strategies to increase public safety across South Fulton. The city recently took over policing from the Fulton County Police Department.
Donald stated a permanent police chief would be in place no later than July 4.
“We have interviewed candidates and will narrow down the selections before presenting to council,” he said.
Under his plan, he wants to increase the starting salary of police officers to $45,000 yearly along with incentives to attract others along with retaining officers with South Fulton Police.
“One of the recommendations from the administration is to increase the starting salary which will make us one of the highest paying departments along with being a competitor for quality officers,” he said. “We are looking at housing allowances and a take-home car program for retention among promotions in the ranks. Also, we are creating an environment of professional development for officers and managers.”
With the increased investment in public safety, Donald states many things are not an increase in cost to residents but an increase in service delivery. He plans to create police precincts across the city in Districts 1, 3, and 4.
In District 1, the West Cascade Fire Station is being considered as a public safety hub.
For District 3, Donald wants to have space for police in the parks headquarters building on Stonewall Tell Road.
And for District 4, there is an agreement for a $1 yearly lease proposal for space.
The police department is currently operating out of space on Old National Highway in the former Fulton County Police offices.
“We want to have a deeper police presence in the city,” he said.
Central Old National Councilman Khalid Kamau also wanted to see additional services for the southern part of the corridor and District 7. He also wanted the precincts to provide services close for citizens.
“When our mayor was the county commissioner, he wanted the Old National office to be a 24/7 precinct and the county did not follow through on. As a city, I want us to deliver on that vision for the community,” he said. “These precincts must have services and be accessible to the citizens who require such. One should have to drive across town to get a police report.”
Also, he suggested requiring a college degree for officers to receive the higher rate of starting pay and the creation of a police accountability board.
“There is tons of research that states officers who have a college education have less use of force complaints along with overall better customer service,” he said. “I want to see the police accountability board as something proactive for us as a city as we don’t have the repulsive force incidents as other places have but I do hear customer service complaints. I want us to be in a position to be proactive than reactionary.”
Mayor Bill Edwards agreed that services should be decentralized and placed in the neighborhoods. He cited the requests he heard from West Cascade business owners during a recent Mayor’s Walk.
“The precincts put a presence in the neighborhoods, and that’s what I kept hearing on Cascade, they want visibility. I was prepared to hear concerns about crime, but that didn’t come up,” he said. “The people want to see more community policing in action with officer interaction with business owners and residents to create relationships.”
Donald also stated the city is aggressively working on a 10 minute response time to incidents.
“We are finalizing the mutual aid agreement with neighboring fire departments to help us enhance fire services and safety. The goal is to reduce wait times for police calls greatly,” he said. “Having officers in various areas will greatly contribute towards such.”
Also, he stated public safety transparency is vital with plans to place crime stats on the city’s website and the development of a South Fulton 101 series which will allow department heads to interact with citizens on Saturdays.
Donald stated a permanent police chief would be in place no later than July 4.
“We have interviewed candidates and will narrow down the selections before presenting to council,” he said.
Under his plan, he wants to increase the starting salary of police officers to $45,000 yearly along with incentives to attract others along with retaining officers with South Fulton Police.
“One of the recommendations from the administration is to increase the starting salary which will make us one of the highest paying departments along with being a competitor for quality officers,” he said. “We are looking at housing allowances and a take-home car program for retention among promotions in the ranks. Also, we are creating an environment of professional development for officers and managers.”
With the increased investment in public safety, Donald states many things are not an increase in cost to residents but an increase in service delivery. He plans to create police precincts across the city in Districts 1, 3, and 4.
In District 1, the West Cascade Fire Station is being considered as a public safety hub.
For District 3, Donald wants to have space for police in the parks headquarters building on Stonewall Tell Road.
And for District 4, there is an agreement for a $1 yearly lease proposal for space.
The police department is currently operating out of space on Old National Highway in the former Fulton County Police offices.
“We want to have a deeper police presence in the city,” he said.
Central Old National Councilman Khalid Kamau also wanted to see additional services for the southern part of the corridor and District 7. He also wanted the precincts to provide services close for citizens.
“When our mayor was the county commissioner, he wanted the Old National office to be a 24/7 precinct and the county did not follow through on. As a city, I want us to deliver on that vision for the community,” he said. “These precincts must have services and be accessible to the citizens who require such. One should have to drive across town to get a police report.”
Also, he suggested requiring a college degree for officers to receive the higher rate of starting pay and the creation of a police accountability board.
“There is tons of research that states officers who have a college education have less use of force complaints along with overall better customer service,” he said. “I want to see the police accountability board as something proactive for us as a city as we don’t have the repulsive force incidents as other places have but I do hear customer service complaints. I want us to be in a position to be proactive than reactionary.”
Mayor Bill Edwards agreed that services should be decentralized and placed in the neighborhoods. He cited the requests he heard from West Cascade business owners during a recent Mayor’s Walk.
“The precincts put a presence in the neighborhoods, and that’s what I kept hearing on Cascade, they want visibility. I was prepared to hear concerns about crime, but that didn’t come up,” he said. “The people want to see more community policing in action with officer interaction with business owners and residents to create relationships.”
Donald also stated the city is aggressively working on a 10 minute response time to incidents.
“We are finalizing the mutual aid agreement with neighboring fire departments to help us enhance fire services and safety. The goal is to reduce wait times for police calls greatly,” he said. “Having officers in various areas will greatly contribute towards such.”
Also, he stated public safety transparency is vital with plans to place crime stats on the city’s website and the development of a South Fulton 101 series which will allow department heads to interact with citizens on Saturdays.
