As a member of the Dunwoody Budget Committee along with Councilman Wittenstein and Councilman Shortal we were asked to review Mayor Wright's initial budget and if the three of us agreed to modifications then the Mayor's proposed budget would be amended prior to public release. There was a proposal by Chief Grogan to add a dedicated crime reduction team of three officers and a sergeant which would work rotating shifts both night and days, as a team, whereby these four officers would be targeting known high crime areas in Dunwoody as well as doing special investigations as needed. The other two members of the Budget Committee wanted this item removed but I was the lone dissenting vote therefore assuring that this was to be discussed in front of full council.
This matter was discussed at the work session earlier this month but was pulled from the version proposed to be ratified next Monday because four of the seven council members believed that we didn't need the additional officers, had other budgetary priorities or other personal reasons for not moving forward. Other than this one change there was no other substantive budget modifications therefore it was the only difference between what was discussed at the work session and the proposal for October 24th approval which is now available on the City website.
I see this as an important issue moving forward as Council members budgetary philosophy and city service priorities should not be based on what a rap video states or what the boys at the Country Club believe but instead should be setting policy based on the hard statistics and the expertise of the professionals we have hired to do the job. The annual cost of $270,000 in a 22 Million dollar budget is a budget priority that I was willing to make to allow a specific team of officers to actively make our community a safer place to live.
If I can not personally sway council's determination to move forward with this important measure maybe next year this item will resurface again, as all three candidates for Mayor agreed in principal that this was needed.
Below was the Budgetary item that was Removed
Enhance community safety: Government’s primary objective is the protection of its citizens and visitors. Since the Department’s inception in April 2009, Dunwoody’s police officers have worked diligently to protect our citizens and visitors. Based on call volume, our police officers spend the majority of their time responding to calls for service while our detectives complete follow-up investigations on reported crime.
In order to aid in these pursuits, the FY 2012 Budget includes the addition of a Crime Response Team comprised of one sergeant and three patrol officers. The Crime Response Team will utilize both traditional and non-traditional patrol techniques to deter criminal activity, reduce accidents and injuries from accidents, and improve the quality of life for our community. In particular, the Crime Response Team will implement the Data Driven Approaches to Crime and Traffic Safety (DDACTS) program which integrates location-based crime and traffic data to establish effective and efficient methods for deploying the team. The Crime Response Team will be a key asset in addressing traffic and safety concerns around our schools; targeting hot spots and locations with high incidents of crime; conducting DUI enforcement and highway interdiction; and handling special investigations as needed. For example, one common complaint our Police Department receives regards traffic safety. Currently, complaints are funneled to the shift and assigned to officers who are
working in the particular area of the complaint. In most cases, our officers are not able to address traffic complaints in a timely manner or as adequately as is necessary because their primary responsibility is to answer calls for service and a secondary responsibility is to improve visibility through active directed patrol.
Our new dedicated Crime Response Team will be a great asset to the community by focusing on proactive policing strategies to reduce accidents and reduce crime; thus making our City a safer place. This budget dedicates $269,481 to operations and another $241,067 in first-year capital costs for the Crime Response Team.
Unfortunately this the Public Safety Reality that will remain Unchanged.
Public Safety: Dunwoody is a safe place to live and work. This is essential to the City’s long-term economic growth. Dunwoody Police aggressively worked to prevent and to minimize crime by increasing visibility in neighborhoods, addressing crime “hot spots,” and continuing multiple community involvement programs. During its first year, from April 1, 2009 - March 31, 2010, Dunwoody reported nearly 2,000 Part I Crimes; which include rape, burglary, assault, larceny, and vehicle theft. FY 2011 saw that same statistic drop to just below 1,800 while Dunwoody Police still responded to nearly 34,000 calls for service. With a force of just 46 sworn officers, it is growing increasingly difficult to maintain adequate visibility and reduce crime. The large daytime population surrounding Perimeter Mall combined with and an aging inventory of apartments poses a significant challenge to a small police department.
Planned investments in a Crime Response Team will assist our Police Department in its goal to effectively prevent crime, not just respond to calls. As reflected in the chart below, our statistics for Part 1 Crime virtually mirrors that of both Smyrna and Alpharetta. However, both those cities have more than double the number of sworn officers. Our 0.99 sworn officers per one thousand citizens are dwarfed by Acworth, Alpharetta, Decatur, Kennesaw, Peachtree City, and Smyrna who range from 1.70 in Smyrna to 2.51 in Dalton. The average for seven comparable Georgia cities is 2.02
