Woodruff Park Event to Introduce APD Community Policing Program

Mayor Kasim Reed and Police Chief George Turner will speak Saturday as the APD unveils its new Community Oriented Policing Section (COPS).

The event will be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at Woodruff Park in downtown Atlanta. Reed is expected to appear at 2:30 p.m., according to police spokesman Carlos Campos. Turner, COPS officers, and members of the department’s Mounted Patrol, Motors Unit, Air Unit and SWAT team will also be on hand.

The 50 officers  in the Community Liaison Unit of COPS will work closely with the citizens of the city to reduce crime and promote the quality of life.

“We expect COPS officers to be able to dedicate the time to strategize and follow up with our communities more closely than patrol officers are currently able to due to their busy workloads,” Turner said in a statement. “While every officer’s job is to work diligently to fight crime in concert with our communities, I believe these officers truly are uniquely positioned to make a difference.”

Many COPS resources will go toward quality of life issues such as the eradication of graffiti, illegal dumping and other code enforcement issues, aggressive panhandling and working with youth through programs such as the Police Athletic
League, Campos said in a news release.

The APD received a $11.2 million federal grant in 2009 to fund 50 new police officers for three years. The department is using the money to hire new recruits, and reassigning veteran officers to the Community Liaison Unit.