Monday, October 19, 2009

Dunwoody Police Semi-Annual Report and Budget Request



If you live in Dunwoody and are on Twitter, the Dunwoody Police Department @DunwoodyPolice is a recommended follow as the last two tweets clearly show.  In case you are not aware, I'm also on Twitter as @dunwoodynorth and I attempt to follow anyone tweeting from the City of Dunwoody, so please drop me a line.

Second, if you want to read about the fantastic work that our Dunwoody officers have done since the department's creation on April 1st, the Semi-Annual Report is a must read.  As you read this document, please keep reminding yourself that this department started from scratch just seven months ago.  Amazing work and I am truly proud of our dedicated and professional officers.

Finally, as part of the budget process Police Chief Billy Grogan submitted to the Council his needs assessment whereby he requested for 2010 that the Uniform Patrol be increased from the current 24 officers by 2, up to 26 as well as the addition of 1 detective and 1 regional drug task force officer.  Currently the proposed budget only offers the detective and the task force officer, but if there was a way for the Council to squeeze the funding out for these two additional uniform officers (even if they are hired late in the budget year), I believe that there are several members who would want to do so.  This will undoubtedly be a topic of discussion on Monday evening that will come down to funding priorities in a lean year, needs vs. wants and therefore should be a lively discussion.

2 comments:

themommy said...

I live in the neighborhood where the car break ins happened. The police responded rapidly to a neighbor's phone call at 3am and within a few hours found the perpetrator asleep in a car. Apparently, he stole beer from one neighbor's car (unlocked) and drank it as he wandered the neighborhood. He passed out.

Every single person who has reported that their car was broken into had a car left outside, with valuables in it, that was left unlocked. (In one case, a laptop was taken. In another, golf clubs.) Many of the items have been recovered.

What should make this all the more frustrating for the police, is that we have been having car break ins for the last few weeks, that have been well documented. And yet, people still left valuables in their car and doors unlocked.

Take in your valuables and lock your car, folks!

Kudos to the Dunwoody police for their fine work! Thanks!

Chip said...

I, for one, wonder how it is that Chief Grogan can document these statistics and ratios of surrounding cities to support needing more police personnel in Dunwoody, but the Dunwoody Yes! and Dunwoody Now! groups relied exclusively on the Carl Vinson Report?

Either they did know (and some of them are on the City Council, now) and they hid this information and they're guilty of misrepresentation, or they didn't know and shame on them.

Overall, City of Dunwoody has delivered on most of its promises, but I would spend money on street and infrastructure improvements rather than adding to the personnel overhead. And that goes for the "Assistant City Manager" position, too.

Chip