Atlanta police recruits offered housing incentives

ATLANTA - Beyond the job, Georgia cities are offering incentives to try to people interested in law enforcement to sign up.

Bonuses are one way to woo incoming recruits. Mayor Andre Dickens got behind a different idea to try to make a job with the Atlanta Police Department more attractive.

And that idea is a brand-new apartment complex where thirty applicants at a time can live while they learn.

"I found out we had recruits who were from out of town sleeping in their vehicles at the academy because Atlanta housing cost too much," Dickens told guests on hand for a ribbon-cutting.

While on the Atlanta City Council, Dickens selected a parcel of city-owned land in the English Avenue neighborhood. Corporations, philanthropic organizations, and contractors all chipped in to do the project.

Each recruit gets a bedroom and bath. And there is a common area with a kitchen and living room.

The applicant pays well below market rent for the space. As a recruit gets to graduation day and eventually on their own, the dorm-style apartment becomes available to the next applicant.

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