Atlanta officials unveil new Buckhead police precinct
By Shaddi Abusaid, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Atlanta city leaders were on hand for the unveiling of a new police precinct Thursday morning near the heart of Buckhead’s commercial center.
The Zone 2 West Village Mini-Precinct, located near the intersection of busy Peachtree and West Paces Ferry roads, is set to open this summer and will be staffed by at least a dozen officers, Atlanta Police Chief Rodney Bryant said. Additional officers will likely be added from each new class of police recruits. The mini-precinct is one of nine across Atlanta.
The men and women stationed there will focus primarily on responding to traffic calls, freeing up other units from Zone 2 to go on patrols and deal with more serious crime in the area. Plans for the department’s newest precinct were first announced last fall.
The move comes amid an effort from some Buckhead residents to secede from Atlanta and carve out a new municipality. Those in favor of the move have cited Atlanta’s recent surge in violent crime as a catalyst for the split, though police department leaders have pointed to data showing a drop in crime in Buckhead last year.
“The Zone 2 police officers were primarily responding to traffic accidents and that took away from their ability to patrol in the area,” Bryant told the crowd. “When you’re the largest police department in the state, you have the ability to send additional resources to help in our most troubled areas.”