The Dunwoody Police Department has officially launched its Police Public Safety Ambassador Program, a new initiative to help with response times and provide assistance with non-emergency calls.
According to a release by the city, civilian public safety ambassadors will respond to non-emergency calls, assist stranded motorists, and address traffic hazards.
“By integrating ambassadors into our operations, we’re able to keep more sworn officers available for serious calls, thereby improving our response times and strengthening the quality of service we provide to our community,” Dunwoody Police Chief Mike Carlson said.
In May, the Dunwoody City Council approved $353,000 to hire and purchase cars and equipment for four PSAs after some discussion at the previous meeting about the pay grade for the personnel.
At the May meeting, police officials pointed out the success of PSA programs in other municipalities like Milton and Marietta.
Officials said they hope to recruit candidates through its Public Safety Cadet program, formerly called the Police Explorer program, “who have an interest in law enforcement and who may one day join our department as a sworn officer when they reach 21.”
According to Dunwoody officials, two ambassadors have completed a training program that includes 40 hours of classroom instruction followed by several weeks of hands-on, on-the-job training with a sworn officer.
