Officials welcome new Atlanta Police Department precinct in Buckhead

ATLANTA, Ga. (CBS46) - The governor of Georgia and mayor of Atlanta, along with interim Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum, gathered in Buckhead Wednesday for the official opening of the Buckhead Village Precinct.

“This adds 12 more folks right here in this Buckhead Village area for faster response times, for more visibility, for more community relationships,” said Mayor Dickens, during a question-answer session with reporters on Wendesday.

The location for the new precinct was unveiled in January. It is located in One Buckhead Plaza at the corner of West Paces Ferry and Peachtree roads.

Twelve officers and 2 supervisors will initially be assigned to the new precinct.

The officers who are stationed in Buckhead will handle primarily traffic-related calls because nearly 50% of the calls in the zone are traffic-related. This will free up beat officers to be better crime fighters, according to the Atlanta Police Department.

A group of Buckhead cityhood supporters held signs on the outside of the protest.

“We’re just tired of the photo ops, we want more action. We want more officers,” said Leila Laniado with the Buckhead City Committee.

She said despite losing steam last legislative session, the effort to have Buckhead become its own city is moving forward.

“There’s another legislative session and we’ll keep coming back,” Laniado said.

Mayor Dickens said the latest data shows crime in Zone 2, where Buckhead is located is down 12%.

“No matter what someone may say, they’re just talking. But we’ve got data on our side,” said Mayor Dickens.

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