Crime & Safety

Atlanta Police Name New Zone 2 Commander

Commander Maj. Robert Browning has been promoted to a new role at APD. Major Van H. Hobbs Jr. will step into the Zone 2 job.

 

The commander for the Atlanta Police Department zone that patrols Buckhead has been promoted to a new position.

The department announced Wednesday that Zone 2 Maj. Robert Browning will be the new commander of APD’s Special Operations Section, effective Thursday, April 26.

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The new Zone 2 Commander will be Major Van H. Hobbs Jr., also effective Thursday.

“It has been an honor and a privilege to serve the citizens of Zone 2,” Browning said in a news release.

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“I know that the new commander of Zone 2, Major Van Hobbs, will serve capably and with the same amount of enthusiasm and commitment to reducing crime and serving the public as I did. I look forward to continuing to serve the department as the new commander of our Special Operations Section.”

Maj. Van H. Hobbs Jr. is a 23-year veteran of the Atlanta Police Department and was appointed to the rank of Major and assigned as the Zone 2 Precinct Commander in April, 2012.

Hobbs is a 23-year veteran of the department who has served in various areas including patrol, investigations, training, recruitment, policy writing, and property.

“It’s an honor to have been chosen by Chief Turner to lead Zone 2, and I look forward to serving the citizens with the same amount of dedication as Major Browning,” Hobbs said in a statement.

“We have a good group of men and women in Zone 2 who have done an outstanding job. We will continue to strive to reduce crime and promote the quality of life, while working with our residents, business owners, and other stakeholders."

achieved the largest decrease in crime in the city for 2011, the APD said in an announcement earlier this year.

The zone posted a 13 percent reduction in crime over the year, though it's the city's largest patrol area. Community leaders and his team when the news was announced.

Zone 2 includes many north Atlanta neighborhoods, including North Buckhead, Peachtree Hills, Mount Paran-Northside and Riverside. The zone also covers Lenox Square, Phipps Plaza, the central Buckhead business district and the Buckhead commercial and residential area along Howell Mill Road. Under a recent beat redesign that took effect in early 2012, the zone added the Cheshire Bridge and Morningside areas.


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