ATLANTA — Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens has been in office for just 10 days, but is already tackling one of the focal points of his campaign: crime.
Dickens and the Atlanta Police Department unveiled plans for a new precinct in Buckhead Thursday morning.
Dickens said the second precinct is needed because of the high demand for officers in the busy business and residential community in northeast Atlanta.
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The precinct is slated to be finished in December but could be completed sooner. Twelve officers will start out at the location but more will be added if needed.
Dickens told Channel 2′s Dave Huddleston the new precinct is not in response to the push by some to create a new Buckhead City.
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Buckhead is an area that has seen an increase in crime over the past year.
In August 2021, Atlanta Police Chief Rodney Bryant spoke with Channel 2′s Richard Belcher about the rise in crime in the area and plans to increase police presence.
“We recognize that we’re seeing an increase in crime over from the beginning of this year, even to this day,” said Bryant.
The police chief also said that in the first eight months of 2021, shootings were up 59% over 2020.
The Buckhead City Committee has argued the crime increase is why the area should separate from Atlanta.
Prior to being inaugurated, the then mayor-elect Dickens addressed the controversial issue of Buckhead cityhood.
“Exit and separation is not the answer,” Dickens said. He went on to say that the city is working to bring down crime levels and believes a separate city of Buckhead would only hurt Atlanta.
A new police precinct in Buckhead seems to be one of the first ways Dickens is aiming to fulfill his promise of decreasing crime in the city and the Buckhead area.
In his August 2021 interview with Belcher, Bryant made mention of allocating up to 20 to 24 new officers to a new so-called West Village precinct. It is currently unclear if this is the precinct Dickens will be unveiling.
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