SOUTH FULTON, Ga. — A metro Atlanta police department has started a new program with the goal of retaining its officers. Those at the City of South Fulton Police Department said it's important with competition for police officers in the area.
Keeping police officers on the force is essential, the department said.
“Retention is an important factor to any agency, especially this one," South Fulton Police Deputy Chief Eddie Smith said.
Smith said the department is focusing on retaining talent through the newly formed retention division.
“We want to build our department to mirror the community and also to we want to respond better to the problems and the crime related issues that take place within the city of South Fulton jurisdiction," Smith said.
Sgt. Pserda Dickerson said the retention initiative includes take-home vehicles and increasing the starting salary for police officers to $61,000 a year.
“We're currently one of the highest-paid police departments in this area. We also offer tuition reimbursement. As far as mental health and wellness, we have a program that we put in place for peer support," Dickerson said.
Another part of the retention division is detective advisors, who are assigned 10 to 15 officers each.
“Their sole job is to make sure that their mental health and their well-being is well taken care of and also their career development," Dickerson said.
The City of South Fulton currently has about 180 officers working in its police department, but the deputy chief said it should be double that. He’s hoping the department will be close to fully staffed soon with lots of officers currently going through training. He believes having a fully staffed department will help improve response times.
“You always want to improve when it comes to responding to the community when there's a need, and so we’re always working on improving," Smith said.
The City of South Fulton is one of the newest municipalities in metro Atlanta. It was incorporated in 2017.