Is the Druid Hills Patrol Necessary?

The Druid Hills Patrol is a nonprofit organization of off-duty police officers who patrol the Druid Hills neighborhood in an effort to make it a safer community.

However, how necessary is the Druid Hills Patrol?

Now that many communities in DeKalb County have incorporated and created their own police departments, DeKalb Police has shifted its beats and precincts to the unincorporated areas, including Druid Hills. The police department expects to hire 80 new officers by the end of the year and an additional 160 in the next three years.

According to the Druid Hills Patrol website, the organization is important because its "officers supplement the under-staffed, under-funded police departments and provide the kind of community policing that the City and County cannot supply."

The organization states on its site that with the amount of violent crime in the urban Atlanta area, "non-violent crime like burglary doesn’t receive significant (if any) jail time" and the burglars are released back onto the streets."

DHP funds the continued neighborhood presence of off-duty DeKalb Police and Atlanta Police officers "wearing full police uniform, in direct communication with 911, with emergency response capability and full powers to arrest, operating out of a clearly identified DHP vehicle."

Utilizing a new iPhone app created by DHP, officers can securely access member information to notify a member of suspicious activity at his or her home, email him or her a photo or even call an emergency contact.

If you think the Druid Hills Patrol is necessary, you can become a member right now for $25 a month on a three- or six-month trial basis. This cost is normally $40 per month.

“The benefits of not filing insurance claims, not paying deductibles, and having our own officer available to advocate during shift change meetings for follow-ups and investigations by police headquarters, and to have our own officers appear in court . . . those benefits are worth the cost of annual membership," stated Patrol board member Judy Yates on the Druid Hills Civic Association website.