Atlanta to hire 50 new cops with federal funds

By Associated Press

For the AJC

The city of Atlanta will hire 50 new police officers with the help of $11.2 million in federal funds approved by the Atlanta City Council.

The council approved the funds, part of the Justice Department's Community Oriented Policing Services Recovery Program, at its Monday council meeting. Atlanta Police Deputy Chief George Turner says the department hopes to have the officers hired by the beginning of 2010.

The money will fund positions for three years and the city will assume the costs of salaries and benefits after that period expires.

All police hired under the grant must contribute to community policing in the city, which the Justice Department defines as "a philosophy that promotes ... the systematic use of patnerships and problem-solving techniques, to proactively address the immediate conditions that give rise to public safety issues such as crime, social disorder and fear of crime."

Atlanta's grant was one of 11 awarded to metro governments through the program. Other metro agencies, and the number of new officers included in the grants, are:

* City of Carrollton (3 officers)

* Clayton County Police Department (5 officers)

*Conyers Police Department (3 officers)

* DeKalb County (15 officers)

* City of Douglasville (4 officers)

* Forest Park Department of Public Safety (3 officer)

* Marietta Police Department (6 officer)

* City of Morrow (2 officers)

* Riverdale Police Department (2 officers)

* City of Villa Rica (2 officers)

According to the Department of Justice, 236 agencies across the state applied for the grants, which were awarded to 48 agencies statewide. Georgia agencies will receive a total of $31,758,831 in grant money through the program.

The Atlanta Police Department is the state's largest, with more than 1,700 sworn officers.

Staff writer Mike Morris contributed to this article.