The board of directors of the Buckhead Community Improvement District recently voted to approve $118,000 to expand its supplemental patrol program with the Atlanta Police Department, according to a press release.
The funding will add a third off-duty APD officer in a co-branded cruiser to patrol within the CID boundaries. The BCID has funded a dedicated supplemental patrol officer and vehicle for the commercial core since March 2020 and added a second officer and vehicle in December 2020. The patrol supplements existing APD on-duty patrols from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. six days a week.
“The safety of the Buckhead community is our top priority for the foreseeable future, and I’m pleased that the CID board continues to provide such significant financial support for security efforts,” said Jim Durrett, executive director of Buckhead Community Improvement District and president of the Buckhead Coalition.
The supplementary security patrol is a central element of the Buckhead Security Plan, a collaborative effort to deter crime that was created and is being implemented by 11 businesses and civic organizations. The Buckhead Security Plan includes a range of near-term and longer-term actions including creating a strategic grid of security cameras, increasing investment in Crime Stoppers and pushing for policy and procedural changes to improve enforcement of existing laws and ordinances.
The Buckhead Security Plan was developed by the Buckhead Coalition, the Atlanta Police Foundation, Atlanta City Council (J.P. Matzigkeit and Howard Shook), Fulton County Commission (Robb Pitts and Lee Morris), City of Atlanta Mayor’s Office (Jon Keen), Atlanta Police Department, Zone 2, Buckhead Community Improvement District, Livable Buckhead, Buckhead Business Association, Buckhead Council of Neighborhoods, and Neighborhood Planning Units A, B, and C.
The full plan is available at https://sites.google.com/atlantapolicefoundation.org/the-buckhead-security-plan/home.
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