Police Services

Current Conditions

The City continues its emphasis on the community-policing concept, combining aggressive crime-fighting strategies and problem-solving capabilities, and other crime-fighting initiatives to prevent crime and improve the quality of the life in the City. Figure 17.1 ‘City of Atlanta Total Crime (Seven Major Crime Categories)’ shows the level of crime from 1998 to 2002.

Inventory

Police services to City residents and businesses are managed and supported through City Hall East headquarters, six patrol precincts, the training facility, mini-precincts, airport and other facilities.  Each precinct is responsible for a police patrol zone (see Map 17.1 ‘Atlanta Police Zones and Precincts’).  Twelve mini-precincts are located throughout the City.

Figure 17.1 City of Atlanta Total Crime (Seven Major Crime Categories)

Figure 17.1 City of Atlanta Total Crime (Seven Major Crime Categories) (Popup full image) 

Anticipated Future Conditions

The Atlanta Police Department will experience changes brought about by developments in society, in the economy, and in technology.   Development and implementation of strategies to address special events and diverse international and cultural issues will impact on the Department’s resources. The Department will continue to experience extremely competitive recruiting efforts in US law enforcement.

The priorities of the Atlanta Police Department will be to expand its Community Policing Initiatives, to further develop technological tools in support of policing, and to target all crimes for reduction.  Resources, however, are not expected to rise at the same rate as needed; therefore the requirement for cooperation between the public and private sectors will intensify, a move consistent with the Community Policing Philosophy.


Current Policies

  1. To further expand the Department’s community policing efforts.
  2. To reduce violent crime, including domestic violence, gun related crimes and youth crimes.
  3. To expand youth related activities.
  4. To maintain police visibility downtown.
  5. To reduce the fear and perception of crime.
  6. To enhance service through improvement in technology.
  7. To recruit aggressively to fill vacant position.
  8. To develop working partnerships with other agencies.

Community Policing

This program is spearheaded by the Atlanta Police Department, but requires that other City government and community resources be directed at many of the underlying causes of crime and violence.  It is a collaborative effort.  Components within the Police Department include citizen advisory councils, foot patrols, “park and walk,” bicycle patrols, police security inspectors, mini precincts, Police and Community Empowerment (PACE) officers, Project Safe Neighborhood Operation Weed and Seed and zone level community outreach programs.  Community policing initiatives are being conducted in all zones as an integral part of the redevelopment action programs.  In support of community policing, the Department is developing and communicating better information on communities and their problems through technological innovations.

Initiatives to Reduce Violence

The Department prepares and implements a crime reduction plan annually.  Strategies to address violence include weeding out drugs and drug- related violence in the communities.  The Red Dog street level interdiction program, Operation Street Heat to increase enforcement efforts through overtime, and the grant-funded Weed and Seed Program are examples of these strategies.

 

Map 17.1 Atlanta Police Zones and Precincts

Map 17.1 Atlanta Police Zones and Precincts (Popup full image) 

Community Policing

Gun Reduction Strategy: Although rates of juvenile crime are decreasing, weapons-related violence remains a serious concern.  Accordingly, the Department is participating in a multi-faceted approach to reduce gun violence by decreasing juvenile demand for guns and/or decreasing the supply of guns to youth.  In conjunction with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the department seeks to systematically trace every gun confiscated in order to identify patterns and high-risk dealers and to increase enforcement.

The Department has implemented a street-level interdiction project, targeting enforcement of laws that prohibit carrying of firearms by juveniles and convicted felons in order to reduce violent crime in the City.  The project targets any type of firearm violation, with ATF tracking the weapon to find its source. Through the FACE 5 program, repeat offenders face an additional five years in Federal prison. The Department is also developing a “safe storage campaign” to encourage gun owners to properly store weapons and keep them safe.

Operation Jail & Tell:  This program involves enhanced uniformed visibility and vigorous undercover operation against criminal activity. It is designed to create a sense of police omnipresence and aggressive street-level drug and vice enforcement.  The operation’s goals are three-fold: 1) to prevent crime; 2) to put street-level traffickers on the defensive; and 3) to strip patrons of illicit drugs and prostitution of their anonymity.  The Department publicizes the names of the arrestees through the City Cable Channel’s “Busted” program, bulletin board at City Hall, and the distribution of flyers in affected neighborhoods.

Initiatives to Address the Needs and Challenges of Atlanta Youths

The Police Department, in partnership with the community and other social service providers, offers Atlanta’s youths alternatives to violence, drug usage, and other criminal activities as well as initiatives aimed at helping youths to make good life choices.

Expansion of the PAL program to include not only athletics, but also academic and life skill initiatives.

Continuation of truant sweeps to reduce the likelihood of juveniles becoming crime victims or perpetrators and to reinforce the schools’ efforts at education.  The Field Operations Division (FOD) commander assigns one officer   to a truant detail in each police zone.  The truancy program includes the cooperative efforts of the Atlanta Police Department, the Atlanta Public Schools, MARTA, Juvenile Court and the Atlanta Housing Authority.

Continued enforcement of the curfew ordinance for children under sixteen, to protect the children and reinforce the role of the parents.

Initiatives to respond to youth and drug-related gangs.

Youth and violent crimes initiative - collaborative effort between APD and five county metro law enforcement agencies designed to reduce the availability of guns, particularly among youth.

Liaison with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (BATF), FBI, state and local jurisdictions on gang activity.

Continued cooperation between field investigation teams and the Intelligence Unit in areas of gang activity.

The Gangs Unit to investigate and prevent gang violence.

The Police Department recently augmented the Citizen’s Police Academy concept to include a series of one-day Junior Citizen’s Academy courses at the Atlanta Police Academy.  The course is designed for boys and girls, ages 11-13, and has been met with great interest throughout the city.  Formulated so as to increase mentoring opportunities, and positive interaction between young people and the police, the goal of the program is to help educate Atlanta’s youth about health and wellness, peer pressure, drug awareness, dangerous weapons, bicycle safety, and self-esteem.  The curriculum for the program also includes demonstrations by specialized patrol units such as the helicopter, motorcycle, mounted patrol and K-9 units.

Maintain Police Visibility Downtown

Police visibility tends to reduce the community perceptions of fear and crime.  The Atlanta Police Department will maintain the visibility of police officers downtown.

COMNET: is a radio communications network between the Atlanta Police Department (APD) and private security agencies.  The scope of participation now includes college and university police departments, federal law enforcement agencies and the Downtown Improvement District (DID) Ambassadors.  This project enhances the ability to provide safer central business district streets because it enables participants to communicate directly with the Atlanta Police.  Currently COMNET is operating throughout the city and has grown from ninety members in 1995 to over one hundred eighty members in 2003.

Downtown Improvement District (DID): Through the DID, non-residential building owners pay a special property tax assessment for additional security through the Ambassador program, overseen by a board of property owners with City participation, and a contract with the City guaranteeing the existing level of police service.

Reduce the Fear and Perception of Crime

The Department will maintain a strong program of Neighborhood and Business watches.  These programs keep the businesses and residents focused on the safety of the area.

Aggressive Recruiting to Fill Vacancies

In 2003, the Department will continue to fill its vacant police officer positions.

Enhance the quality of police service through improvement in technology

CJIS (Criminal Justice Information System): Under the combined leadership of the Atlanta Police Department’s Information Services Section and the Bureau of Management Information Systems, the department continues to improve support from CJIS.  CJIS is the cornerstone for sharing crucial information about all types of incidents between police, corrections, traffic and municipal court.  This system provides the ability to track an incident from the initial call through completion of the court action at the City level.  The next phase is to communicate electronically with the Fulton County and other county courts, and to improve data entry and quality to facilitate information sharing.

Automated Fingerprinting Identification System: The Police and Corrections Departments have implemented an Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) to provide electronic storage of fingerprints.  It searches local and national records. With this automation, it is anticipated that all of the City's arrestees will be fingerprinted, increasing the chances of identifying a wanted person when he or she is brought to the jail on unrelated charges.  The system will aid in the solution of many otherwise unsolvable crimes.

COBRA: The command staff of the Police Department gathers weekly to review crime statistics, identify problems, and plot strategies. COBRA is the backbone of APD's crime-fighting efforts. Central strategic direction of the Department is stronger, with specific responsibilities, clear performance measures, and strict accountability. This process is possible because recent technological improvements have made crime data much more quickly available and thorough. Analysis of the data has become much more efficient through automating the tabulation and mapping processes. Having top command staff, patrol commanders, investigation commanders, and crime analysts together for the discussion promotes cooperative and effective solutions to problems.

Laptop Computers: The COPS MORE Program provides laptop computers to field officers to reduce the time they spend writing reports and to allow officers to spend more time in community-oriented policing activities.  The COPS MORE program also provides better controls for a higher quality of information, supports faster electronic processing of reports and significantly reducing paper handling.

Computerized Mapping: Computerized mapping has significantly improved the department’s ability to electronically map and analyze geographically based crime data, for more effective deployment of resources and more effective analysis of crime patterns.  The Department will continue to develop its crime analysis capabilities to provide better information to officers, investigators and managers.

Networking the Department has created a Web page to share information with other agencies and the community, and will continue to expand the available information through the Internet and internal networks.

The Department has electronically networked all police locations via the City’s Wide Area Network (WAN).  This connection enables police personnel with the correct security codes to inquire into a variety of databases in support of ongoing investigations.

Develop Partnerships with Other Agencies

The Department continues to maintain and increase its partnerships with other agencies.

Continued cooperation between federal, state and other law enforcement agencies, such as a joint task force between the DEA, FBI, Customs, ATF, and APD is essential to effective law enforcement.

Establish a partnership with the Midtown Improvement District

The Department has established a partnership with the Midtown Improvement District.  Midtown has created a supplemental police patrol, hiring off duty police officers. 

  1. Establish a working relationship between the midtown Precinct and the “Midtown Blue officers” to promote coordination of effort.
  2. Share crime analysis with “Midtown Blue officers”
  3. Expand COMNET into Midtown.