DEKALB COUNTY WEEKLY NEWS

By Dyana Bagby

More police officers are patrolling some of Buckhead’s busiest commercial thoroughfares thanks to a privately funded initiative to provide more security in the affluent north Atlanta neighborhood.

The Buckhead Safety Alliance said private security patrols by off-duty Atlanta Police Department officers will patrol five commercial districts, including:

■ Howell Mill from Collier Road south to I-75

■ Northeast Parkway north from Moores Mill to the Atlanta city limit

■ Peachtree Road south from Pharr Road to Brookwood Station

■ Roswell Road north from East Andrews Drive to city limit

■ Piedmont Road south from Pharr Road to I-85

The new patrols were formed based on recommendations from a 2022 report by the Buckhead Public Safety Task Force.

The cost to operate the patrols for a year is estimated at $575,000. The Atlanta Police Foundation donated three police cruisers for the patrols. The Buckhead Safety Alliance has raised so far this year $450,000 from businesses, organizations, and individuals. Of that total, the Buckhead Coalition donated $250,000.

The $450,000 will cover operating costs through the end of the year and the alliance, a membership organization, is seeking donations to fund future patrols.

At a May 22 press conference in the OK Cafe parking lot on West Paces Ferry Road, Atlanta City Councilmember Mary Norwood said the new security patrols said the new security patrols “will actually make us safer in Buckhead for our residents and our visitors.”

Later in the day, Norwood announced via a press release she was donating $100,000 to the alliance.

Zone 2, which includes Buckhead, has seen crime drop two years in a row, according to APD. Crimes against persons are down 25% throughout the city, Police Chief Darin Schierbaum said at the press conference.

Schierbaum said through the Buckhead Safety Alliance’s initiative, there will be more Atlanta Police officers on patrol to assist with directions, assist with traffic control and respond to 911 calls.

The off-duty officers will have full arrest powers. They will also have dedicated cell phones with a number available to Buckhead Safety Alliance businesses and members to call for immediate assistance.

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