Police discuss community service volunteers at virtual meeting in Tucker

At a virtual meeting on June 6, representatives from the Tucker Police Precinct discussed the role of its community service volunteers in the city.

Lt. N. Tyner of the East Precinct in DeKalb introduced the program to the approximately 20 participants. CSAs are civilian employees who handle low-level operations that do not require a dedicated police presence, such as abandoned vehicle inspections, traffic management, investigations and animal complaints. They undergo 15 weeks of intensive training before hitting the road in their specially marked service vehicles.

Maj. Matthew Harden of the Tucker Precinct said the CSA program is “a great benefit to this community.”

“We have a group in training now and you will see them on the streets in the Tucker district in the next few weeks,” Harden said.

Harden also briefly addressed crime statistics in the Tucker area, saying, “We’re doing very well, the numbers are down in almost all areas.”

“But just because crime has gone down doesn’t mean much if you’re a victim of a crime, because it still happened to you,” he said. “That’s why we look at things in a broader context and not just the numbers.”

Several participants praised the police for their quick response.

Fran Mohr said she saw a group of people walking slowly down her street, and when she called 911, officers were on the scene in less than five minutes.

“It turned out that these people were searching mailboxes, and I was very pleased that the police were on the scene so quickly,” she said.

During the meeting, officials announced that the next “Coffee with a Cop” will be held on June 26 from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. at the Starbucks restaurant on Lawrenceville Highway.

In addition, the next registration deadline for the Citizens Training Academy is August 9th. The course runs from August 21st to October 23rd.