Published: July 31, 2009 09:05 am         

Mayor promises 139 new police officers on streets

ATLANTA (AP) — Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin said Thursday she plans to add 139 more officers to the city’s force in response to criticism that she and the police chief aren’t doing enough about crime.

Police Chief Richard Pennington also said at a news conference that he will leave his job at the end of the year when Franklin’s second term as mayor ends.

Both said they had not “checked out” of the effort to combat crime and noted that violent crime has declined this year in the state’s capital.

Though data shows violent crime in Atlanta is down 10 percent compared to this time last year, high profile crimes like the carjacking of a city councilman Ceasar Mitchell and the fatal shooting of former boxing champion Vernon Forrest over the weekend has drawn a public outcry for more police protection.

Franklin said Thursday that 27 new officers will hit the streets Sept. 15 in areas where a recent string of carjackings have concerned residents and a total of 139 new officers will be deployed by the end of the year.

She said other officers will focus on gang crime and clearing the streets of teenagers early in the morning and that there will be more police sweeps in high-crime neighborhoods.

Pennington has been criticized for not showing more public leadership in the recent high-profile crimes. He said he has kept up with crime fighting while also taking mandated officer training.

The mayor defended her police chief, saying citizens shouldn’t be “dumping” on police.

“I think he is a great chief. I think he has reformed this department,” Franklin said. “We have more police officers and retained them than we have in decades. Now is that enough? Absolutely not. We are still pushing ourselves to do more.”

     

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