Peachtree Corners Police Department? Community weighs pros and cons

Police department for Peachtree Corners?

Officials in Peachtree Corners are seriously considering create its own police force due to staffing shorting among the Gwinnett County Police Department.

PEACHTREE CORNERS, Ga. - The city of Peachtree Corners is working to decide whether to form its own police force, and some of its residents already have strong opinions on the matter.

City leaders kicked off a public feedback and awareness campaign about the proposal to form their own police department with a Q&A Townhall on Thursday. 

What we know:

"Is it better one way or the other? There are pros and cons of each," said City Manager for Peachtree Corners, Brian Johnson. 

Per an intergovernmental agreement (IGA), Gwinnett County Police patrol and police Peachtree Corners. Johnson told gathered residents that while they’re not dissatisfied with the job GCPD is doing, they believe they may be able to get better coverage and response times from having their own police force. 

He pointed to chronic staffing shortages at GCPD. Johnson said the West Precinct is in charge of patrolling and responding in Peachtree Corners, but 75% of crime in that precinct happens outside of the City. 

So he and Mayor Mike Mason say officers often have to leave Peachtree Corners to respond in other areas. "We don't have a lot of crime. But the attention (GCPD) can pay us with the cars and the guys on the street patrolling is less. And if they get something, they properly go where they should. So the question is, is that in our best interest as a city?" Mason said.

By the numbers:

According to a study the City commissioned, Peachtree Corners estimates they need a staff of 65 people, 52 being sworn officers, to adequately provide enough police services for the City. 

Johnson said that from their data, they estimate that at any given time there are 3 to 4 GCPD officers patrolling the City, but with their plan, they could have up to 8 patrolling the City at a time. 

Currently, the City pays around $9 million/year to Gwinnett County for police services, but in order to create a department of that size, they estimate it would cost them about $12 million/year.

In order to make up the difference, they would have to raise property taxes. Johnson says they estimate they would need to raise taxes by 0.6 mills, which, for the average homeowner in Peachtree Corners, would be an increase of $70/year.

What they're saying:

Many at Thursday’s meeting seemed concerned about the increase in cost and whether that cost would be justified. "This seems like a solution in search of a problem. Because we agree, your numbers and my numbers and everything I’ve researched shows that the crime rate has stayed pretty much steady since 2017," said one resident. 

Johnson did present data showing the crime rate in Peachtree Corners has remained the same for the last 7 years. "Why do we need to now spend this kind of money on a problem that’s not there?" that resident said. 

Others worried that losing GCPD would mean losing services like special units such as SWAT and others. But a few people at the meeting were supportive of the idea. "We know we need better policing, we really do…you get all the advantages and the cost is only a tiny bit more," said one resident. Still, several other taxpayers asked city leaders why they couldn’t just try to renegotiate the contract they have with Gwinnett County to ensure enough officers are patrolling the city. "We can do it for less than what the city is proposing…we have leverage over the county," one resident said.

What's next:

City leaders say they’ll be gathering feedback from residents all summer. "We haven’t made up our minds one way or the other yet," Mayor Mason said. 

They say they’ll be holding more townhalls, but they’re also encouraging people to send them feedback through a survey on their project page. 

Johnson says the soonest the City Council would decide anything would be in the Fall. And if they do decide to form their own police department, per the IGA, they would have to give Gwinnett County a four-year heads up.