Crime & Safety

A Note on 4th of July Safety

The county is encouraging residents to sign their pledge against celebratory gunfire.

This isn't super local, but it's pretty important. Everyone read about Marquel Peters. One of the worst DeKalb County stories I've ever read. The county's public safety department sent this out, and Patch is passing it on to you guys. I don't think this is much of a problem in the North Druid Hills-Briarcliff area, but it's hard to tell sometimes whether what you hear on celebratory holidays like the Fourth is fireworks or gunshots.

The DeKalb Public Safety Department is reminding residents to remain safe during Fourth of July celebrations and refrain from celebratory gunfire. The Department encourages the community to support its efforts to stop the reckless act by signing Marquel’s Pledge.

Launched one year ago in June 2010, Marquel’s Pledge is a community initiative to raise awareness of the dangers of celebratory gunfire in DeKalb County and throughout Georgia. DeKalb County developed the initiative after 4-year-old Marquel Peters was struck and killed in church by a stray bullet believed to have been fired by a New Year’s Eve reveler.

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A vital DeKalb County Public Safety initiative, Marquel’s Pledge fosters citizen participation to reduce celebratory gunfire by educating community stakeholders about the dangers of celebratory gunfire. Marquel’s Pledge is a progressive campaign serving as the first community outreach initiative of its kind developed by a county government within the State of Georgia. In the year since the launch of Marquel’s Pledge, the 47 percent decline in the number of celebratory gunfire calls to 911 during the New Year’s Eve holiday is proof that by raising the awareness of the dangers of celebratory gunfire, we can make our community safer for all. 

In honor of Marquel Peters, who lost his life to this dangerous behavior, the goal of this initiative is to ensure this tragedy does not happen again in DeKalb County or throughout the state of Georgia.

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To sign the pledge please log on to the DeKalb County Government website at www.dekalbcountyga.gov.


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