Proposed Police Zone and Beat Redesign

Presentation by Chief Turner and staff on March 9, 2010

Changes in Beat Boundaries by Neighborhood
Neighborhood Boundaries Superimposed on APD Maps
Prepared by Gordon Certain

Note: the APD maps for the new Beat Z2-203B do not show Lenox Square included in this new beat. However, the APD Beat Redesign Document (above) says "203B formed around Lenox Square and Phipps Plaza". Changes are needed to get the maps and document to agree with each other.

Maps Showing All Zone 2 Beats and Neighborhoods

Maps with North Buckhead Highlighted

March 9, 2011 Meeting Report

Chief Turner's Briefing on Zone and Beat Redesign

Chief George Turner and staff briefed neighborhood representatives last night on proposed changes to the police zone (precinct) and patrol beat boundaries for the city. The chief is planning for the changes to be implemented in September.

Beats throughout the city are affected. The plan is to try to equalize the workload at the beat (patrol officer) level. Sixty (60) additional patrol officers are proposed to be assigned to twelve (12) new beats throughout the city, so the average workload of the average beat will be reduced, hopefully improving responsiveness for calls for service.

Our own police precinct (Zone 2) is to be expanded to include two beats which are now part of Zone 6. In addition, a new beat will be created which includes the southern part of North Buckhead. Chief Turner said this new beat, for now called 203B, will include Phipps Plaza and Lenox Square, areas with high levels of "calls for service". The maps that were shown at the meeting, however, show a different Beat 203B that excludes Lenox Square, but includes the area between Peachtree and the Buckhead Loop as well as the Buckhead Forest neighborhood to our west. Attempts to clarify the actual 203B boundaries at the meeting were unsuccessful. Either way, this new beat is good for North Buckhead since many calls for service in our present-day beat 203 originate in our urban areas, especially Phipps Plaza. The remainder of beat 203, for now called 203A, is smaller and much more residential in character and should see improved service.

The change for Zone 2 as a whole is somewhat more mixed. Beat boundaries throughout Buckhead were also redrawn, with only beat 202 unchanged. And while it gets 15 new officers to staff the three additional beats, other resources will be stretched. Councilman Howard Shook, with whom I discussed the subject last night, was concerned that the Cheshire Bridge area, transferred to Zone 2 from Zone 6, puts greater demands on detective work, yet no new detectives were being offered. Also, every one of the six police zones gets two "umbrella cars" to help out when beat officers get overloaded and need help. While Zone 2, already the largest precinct, had staffing for its two umbrella cars, its area has been expanded even more and Zone 2 should arguably get staffing help there, too.

The APD provided maps of the beat boundaries before and after these changes. I modified them by focusing on Zone 2, superimposing neighborhood boundaries and highlighting North Buckhead: see above.

Gordon Certain
President, North Buckhead Civic Association