Lawmaker proposes supplementing police in Buckhead with private security

ATLANTA - An Atlanta political leader proposes establishing a private force to supplement the Atlanta Police Department's crime-fighting efforts.

The idea comes from Fulton County Commission Chairman Robb Pitts.

He believes private money can be raised to centralize the security efforts now underway by various Buckhead neighborhoods into a large network of off-duty police and retired officers.

"I have been around long enough to remember when Midtown Blue was created," Pitts said. "We ought to have a Buckhead Blue."

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The chairman stressed the idea is to augment what the Atlanta Police Department is already doing, not to replace those officers.

One focal point would be the growing problem of illegal street racing and all the noise that comes with that.

And on this point, the politician has personal experience. Pitts recently moved from a quiet community in the Chastain Park neighborhood to the heart of Buckhead where all the action is.

"Yeah I hear it," Pitts said. "It is terrible".

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