When the Tucker Community Asked for Police, DeKalb County Gave Them Police (and that was 100 years ago!)

Tired of hearing people in DeKalb County misrepresent how you, as a Tucker resident, feel about the DeKalb County police and the job they are doing?   When Tucker residents told the city advocacy group at their onset that they did not want to start a city police force, opponents thought this concept would be one they could latch on to and use against them.

"Why doesn't Tucker want a police force?" they would say.  Well, the answer is pretty simple:  we already have one.  The DeKalb County police department does an outstanding job protecting Tucker and the rest of the county.

But, there actually was a time, about 100 years ago, to be exact, that Tucker residents were not so happy with their police protection.  That's because they didn't have any!   According to an  article in the Champion this week about the 100th commemorative year of DeKalb's finest, residents of the Tucker community wanted police protection, so they pressured the DeKalb County Board of Commissioners to provide it.

Andrew Cauthen writes:

That was 1915 and the beginning of the DeKalb County Police Department. This year the department is celebrating its centennial. On Dec. 29, 2014, DeKalb police officers received centennial anniversary commemorative badges, while civilian employees received a commemorative coin with a replica of the badge on it.

 “The badge of a DeKalb County Police officer is earned through hard work, honor and integrity,” interim DeKalb County Police Chief James Conroy told officers before passing out badges during a roll call. “It is a symbol of our honor, our authority to protect, the respect to our community, and to enforce the law set forth by the United States of America, the state of Georgia and the county of DeKalb.

Read more here. 

So, if the building pictured above doesn't look familiar, that's probably by design.  It's actually one of the busiest government building in all of DeKalb County, housing multiple safety headquarters, including that of the Police, Fire Rescue, 911, public safety and emergency management, for the entire county.  

And, when the north precinct closed down in Dunwoody, because their city force was fully functional and Brookhaven's had their "boots on the ground," the Tucker community once again was able to benefit because every officer that was working in the north was given a transfer to other precincts, many of them to the central / Northlake location.  Tucker also includes  the Tucker precinct  on its far side of Lawrenceville Highway.

While some cities choose to be out in plain sight, DeKalb chooses another route:  the omnipresent approach.  You may not know where they are exactly, but you do know that when you come to Tucker, the police are always around because we have not one, but TWO precincts, including the one pictured which is right by the perimeter on Northlake Parkway.  

Not only that, but you have a state of the art 911 facility that does not have to transfer or reroute calls. And, there can be a police helicopter dispatched literally within seconds.

 So,  next time you are asked about Tucker's police, you can proudly tell them that DeKalb's police ARE Tucker's police and it has been that way for more than 100 years!