Posted by Lt. J. Collins on 3/19/2008, 3:55 pm
For those of you that do not know me, I am a Lieutenant with the Powder Springs Police Department and in charge of the Community Outreach Program. First of all I would like to say thank you to this website and it's personnel who allow our citizens to voice their concerns and the citizens who have voiced their opinions. I would like to take this opportunity to address some of the concerns that have been posted on this message board. Through the efforts of Chief Richardson, the Mayor, and the City Council of Powder Springs, we have developed several educational and enforcement programs to deal with the gang issues. The Powder Springs Police Dept. is the only agency in Cobb County that offers the G.R.E.A.T. (Gang Resistance Education and Training)Program in our local schools. We currently teach the G.R.E.A.T. program at Tapp Middle, Cooper Middle, and Compton Elem. Schools. There is also a Powder Springs Officer who teaches a law enforcement program at McEachern High School. On the enforcement side, our department works with all the local agencies within Cobb County. We assist each agency as they assist us by exchanging information, tracking known gang members from jurisdiction to jurisdiction and tracking gang graffiti. In the last week our department has arrested 14 youths ranging from 14 to 20 yoa, for fighting, violating curfew and damage to property. In the week prior, 3 additional youths were arrested in the act of "tagging" the overpaths of the Silver Comet Trail with suspected gang graffiti. As you can see, our agency is very aggressive towards the safety of all citizens and visitors within the City Limits of Powder Springs. Our Department has a staff that is highly trained and skilled in the latest criminal procedures. As a police department, we would love to be able to catch and arrest everyone that commits a crime in Powder Springs, but that is unrealistic.
Another concern I would like to address is the Cobb County 911 issue. Since 1999, Powder Springs has contracted with Cobb 911 to handle all of the emergency dispatches in our City. This is a great benefit for our citizens, our department and our City. The City of Powder Springs alone, could not afford the advanced technology that we receive through the Cobb 911 center. The City of Marietta and Cobb County Sheriffs Department also contract through Cobb 911 due to it's advantages. When a 911 call is made it goes directly into the Cobb 911 center where a Cobb 911 Dispatcher will dispatch a Powder Springs Officer to the incident location. There is not or never has been a third step to this procedure. The calls received are dispatched on a priority level based upon their seriousness. For example, a accident with injuries would be of a higher priority than that of a barking dog. Cobb 911 Center also allows us communication to all local jurisdictions in Cobb County.
With fairness to all, individuals have the right to freely walk on the streets of this city. If you have concerns about a large crowd of individuals gathering, please feel free to contact Cobb 911 and an Officer will be dispatched. However, if this crowd has not committed a crime, the Officer on the scene will gather information, but is limited to the legal action that can be taken.
The Powder Springs Police Department offers a Citizens Police Academy that allows citizens to understand the basic fundementals of law enforcement. We encourage our citizens to attend this course of 10 weeks, one day per week. The next scheduled class starts March 25, 2008.
I hope that your concerns have been addressed. If there is any other assistance that I can offer, please contact me at 770-943-1616.
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