law enforcement appreciation
Transforming Public Safety in Atlanta
By W. David Wilkinson
President & CEO,
Atlanta Police Foundation
[email protected]
George Turner, Police Chief, Atlanta Police Department
A
tlanta today is a world-class destination at the heart of
a thriving metropolitan area; it is a regional, national
and global transportation hub that is home to major
international corporations. But, sadly, some of the perks that
attract business and industry to this great city also attract
crime.
Forty years ago, the City had a reputation as one of the most
dangerous in the nation. Unfortunately, for most of the last
three decades, Atlanta ranked in the top five most dangerous
cities in the country – peaking at the number two spot in
2002. Business leaders, residents and city leaders agreed
this was unacceptable.
A Vision for a Safer City
results. The APF set out to “make public safety first” by
identifying the six public safety priorities for the next mayoral
administration and ensuring the issue was a key topic in that
year’s mayoral election.
The past three years have been a testament to the success
of that strategy: the City Council has approved pay increases
and hiring more officers at a time when most cities were
cutting their law enforcement budgets; the mayor continues
to be committed to improving public safety; and the police
chief is devoted to making the Atlanta Police Department an
exemplary agency.
Today, the Atlanta Police Department is a stronger, more
efficient agency. APD’s commitment to excellence and its
In the past decade, crime in Atlanta has declined. Between
2002 and 2011, Atlanta saw the violent crime rate drop more
than 50 percent, and the overall crime rate fell 40 percent,
according to the FBI’s Uniformed Crime Report. In the past
three years, fewer than 100 homicides have been recorded
in the City, numbers not seen since President Lyndon B.
Johnson took office.
These drastic improvements are largely the result of a
renewed emphasis on the importance of public safety by
city and business leaders.
In 2003, prominent business and city leaders, fueled by
the vision of a safer city, established the Atlanta Police
Foundation to provide the Mayor and the Atlanta Police
Department the necessary support to fulfill their mission.
That vision started with a police department at the forefront
of policing tactics and technologies and ended with a
department that other police agencies would reference as
the model for policing standards.
Since then, the APF’s impact on public safety has been
evident by the continual reduction of crime and further
enhanced through F