Three marshals were sworn into active duty during a Peachtree Corners council meeting this week, officially beginning the city’s new law enforcement program.
In July, the city voted to approve the Marshal’s Office, a local law enforcement service that will serve as a liaison between Peachtree Corners and the Gwinnett County Police Department. Gwinnett police will still be the main law enforcement agency for the city and its residents.
“Our role will be, you know, supplementing Gwinnett, working with the community, and collaborating with various other agencies to deal with the issues that we have going on,” Chief Marshal Edward Restrepo said.
A city spokesman told said there have been instances in the past where county police could not respond right away, so marshals could help stand in the gap.
“For Gwinnett PD, being a large group dealing with a county that’s over a million people, obviously, they want to provide every service they can to us, and they’ve always been great partners, but there’s some things you just can’t get to,” city spokesman Louis Svehla said.
The three officers are POST certified, meaning they have been trained and have met state qualifications with the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council.
The officers are authorized to perform all the duties of any state officer and will focus on the specific needs of the city, which could include focusing on crime areas and increasing patrols for homeowners’ associations and local businesses, a city press release said. They are also authorized to make arrests and carry weapons.
The city has budgeted about $905,000 for the new department in fiscal 2024.
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