I am a fan and proud supporter of the Dunwoody Police Department and more specifically, a supporter of the Officers who do the daunting job of protecting our community. The job is extremely stressful and hard on family life whereby the men and women who provide this service not only see but routinely handle the worst aspects of everyday life.
As a City Councilman, I am not allowed to blindly be just a fan of our Police Department, but I sometimes need to question, discuss, suggest and raise topics behind closed doors in order to be assured that our Department is always improving, adopting best practices, saving lives, protecting property and being ready to jump into action for the next bad day, be that a shooting at the mall, an incident at a school or an interaction between our Department and a resident. We are selective as to the hiring of our officers and once on the force they are rigorously trained on both hard and soft skills of dealing with all aspects of our community, many of whom have special needs. After that training, our officers are seen in the community, personally interacting with residents and humanizing the job of police officer as a trusted member of the community, because that is what they are.
As a City Councilman, I review public arrest data, talk to residents, read the news and all aspects of social media; I meet with Police Management along with the City Manager to discuss issues, trends and to keep informed, I talk one on one with police officers as well as my fellow Council-members. I as a member of Council, do my due diligence to ensure our Department is fulfilling the mission of providing professional law enforcement services to those within our borders and doing so with a goal of continuous improvement; and to that end, I can attest that we have that professionalism here in the City of Dunwoody.
I also believe that the main characteristics of good police officers are being physically fit, having integrity, empathy, team orientation, adaptability, even-tempered, having common sense, a desire to learn and having good communication skills. If you look at the list above, being perfect is not listed as it is a quality as that is unattainable but striving for excellence for yourself and those around you, training to proficiency or certification while as a Department being self-reflective as to where we are, where we need to improve, all the while attempting to implement best industry practices. That is the goal and we are meeting those objectives. I am proud of our Department.
The Dunwoody City Council is now investing in a study of self-reflection of the Dunwoody Police Department and we need your help to provide us feedback. Please attend tonight's meeting to give personal feedback or suggestions on the Department or I also see that there is a link available to provide comments / questions. In order to prepare for tonights meeting I would suggest you (everyone) review the Police Website and maybe a more informative read from an overview perspective is to read the 2021 Annual Report of the Dunwoody Police Department.
If you are happy with the actions of the police department and trust the leadership to continue providing the oversight appropriate for efficiency & effectiveness, therefore seeing no reason to comment.... here is something for you. Today is also the annual Polar Plunge for Special Olympics Georgia, where members of
the Dunwoody Police Department will once again be wearing funny-looking
swim suits to take an ice bath to raise funds for an important cause. If you would like to
make a donation to support the Departments efforts, here is the link to do so.
Below is the meeting information and below that I have copied the mission and vision statements of the Department.
The City of Dunwoody (City) is working
with BerryDunn, a national consulting firm, to conduct a comprehensive
operational assessment of the Dunwoody Police Department. This
independent assessment requires a thorough review of information from
both internal and external sources.
The City is seeking community perspectives on how the Dunwoody Police
Department performs its public safety function in serving Dunwoody
residents and visitors. In addition, like many other areas of the
country, the City is interested in evaluating the traditional
police call for service (CFS) model. It is possible, and perhaps likely,
that certain CFS might be better addressed through non-traditional
methods.
The City, Dunwoody Police Department and BerryDunn are hosting a
special community meeting to discuss these topics, and to explore
thoughts and ideas from the community. Please join us for this meeting
on Wednesday, January 25, 2023 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Dunwoody
North Shallowford Annex, located at 4470 N. Shallowford Road, Dunwoody,
GA 30338 (upstairs).
We welcome positive comments, as well as constructive feedback and
suggestions for improving the department so it can meet the needs of the
community.
Founded on April 1, 2009
The Dunwoody Police Department provides professional law
enforcement services to the residents, businesses, and visitors of
Dunwoody.
The Dunwoody Police Department has the best and the brightest
officers providing the highest level of service to the community. Our
officers are committed to keeping Dunwoody a safe community and the
Dunwoody Police Department a great place to work by promoting the
highest standard of integrity, rigorous training, and maintaining
numerous advanced certifications.
The Dunwoody Police Department works hard to engage the community in
partnerships that help to reduce crime and improve the quality of life
for Dunwoody citizens. By practicing a community policing philosophy
throughout our organization we get to know the community we serve and
the community gets to know us. Our department provides a variety of
community outreach programs designed to build relationships in the
community and provide participants with important information.
Mission Statement
To protect life and property by upholding the law through fair and
impartial policing while being a trusted partner with our community in
order to reduce crime and create a safer Dunwoody.
Vision
To provide a high level of professionalism, service and excellence in
law enforcement while modeling our core values. By doing this, we
enable our citizens to live, work and play safely, while enjoying an
exceptional quality of life.
