Atlanta Police Discuss Zone 6 Rezoning

Police Chief George Turner and key staff members met with residents from zone six Thursday night to discuss changes to the Atlanta Police Department patrol zones later this year.

“This will enable the officers to really patrol those beats in a proactive manner and get to know the community,” Deputy Police Chief Ernest Finley said.

Turner, Finley and Sgt. David Ferguson, the officer in charge of the analysis that led to the plan to add 12 beats across the city, explained how they came up with the final plan to equalize the police workload across the city.

Zone six boundaries — which currently include Virginia-Highland, Morningside, Lenox Park, Poncey-Highland, Inman Park and other East Atlanta neighborhoods — will now include Grant Park, and Morningside and Lenox Park will become part of zone two, among other changes.

Mostly residents from Grant Park and Ormewood Park attended the meeting Thursday, with few Virginia-Highland and Morningside residents representing the northeast neighborhoods. Most concerned Morningside and Lenox Park residents attended the zone two rezoning meeting in Buckhead last week to ask Turner and staff questions.

Turner estimated that the plan could go into effect as early as September or October of this year, depending on how quickly the call-center information is updated.

In addition to five new officers, all six police zones in the city will receive an additional patrol car.

To view the maps and presentation from the meeting, visit the Atlanta Police Department website.