A former police sergeant will soon lead a northern Gwinnett city’s new public safety department.
Sugar Hill City Council tapped Diane King this month to serve as city marshal and director of the department. King will begin the role on Oct. 4 after serving nearly 20 years with the Gwinnett County Police Department.
“I’m looking forward to it,” King told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “It’ll be a challenging role, but I’m looking forward to serving the citizens of Sugar Hill.”
The city of about 25,000 residents does not have its own full-fledged police department, but King and eventually four other officers in the new division will focus on community policing, coordinating citywide emergency operations and providing an enhanced level of safety in Sugar Hill’s public areas.
It’s anticipated that officers within the department will have authority to make arrests and enforce city ordinances and state law as certified Georgia peace officers, City Manager Paul Radford said in an email. The city does not plan to use personnel to perform traffic or speed control, he said.
King will also coordinate the activities of Insight Protection Services, a private security firm recently hired by the city to patrol neighborhoods. The north precinct of the Gwinnett County Police Department and off-duty county officers will continue to serve Sugar Hill by patrolling and responding to calls.
Radford said he anticipates onboarding additional staff for the department later this year or early next year. He expects it to be fully staffed and operational by the second quarter of 2022.
The city projects spending $875,000 to cover the costs of public safety, split between the new department, the private security firm and off-duty officers hired to patrol the city, Radford said. Officials have hoped to create the public safety division for the last two years, but COVID-19 put funding on hold.
“We look forward to Diane joining the Sugar Hill team,” said Mayor Steve Edwards in a news release. “... She lives in Sugar Hill, volunteers here, goes to church here and, most importantly, understands the vision this City Council has for the future of our great city.”
King, a married mother of two daughters, enjoys spending time with her family, coaching softball at Lanier Middle School and running the Lanier Athletic Association softball program. She’s also a member of Sugar Hill Church.
“It’s my home as well,” King said, “so the community is important to me.”
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