DeKalb PD Debuts Civilian Roles For Nonviolent Calls

DEKALB COUNTY, GA — The DeKalb County Police Department's first-ever community service aides started work Monday, in an effort to provide "more personalized service" to the DeKalb community and free up time for sworn officers to address higher-priority calls.

The department's CSAs — S.N. King and J.A. Barton — are non-sworn civilian personnel who will respond to identified lower priority, nonviolent calls for service, according to a department news release. The CSAs will be visibly different from sworn officers, donning neon yellow uniforms and driving specialized cars with "Community Service Aide" displayed along the sides.

These new positions come amid national conversations on the future of policing, and less than two months after the county approved spending $52.4 million in federal money on public safety — including violence interruption and intervention programs, as well as "mobile crisis nurses" for mental-health-related calls.

"This classification was created to allow the department to provide more personalized service to the community while allowing police officers to focus on higher priority and emergency calls that require sworn personnel," officials said in the release.

The CSAs will be dispatched by 911, just like sworn police officers. While King and Barton are in civilian roles and do not have prior law enforcement or social services experience, DeKalb police said. They underwent seven weeks of training at the department's police academy for the roles.

Additionally, the two CSAs will carry a baton and pepper spray, but no firearms.

CSAs will handle the following types of calls:

• Counterfeit material (no suspect present)
• Animal complaint – Low-risk/contained animal/barking dog/etc.
• Abandoned vehicle (red tag abandoned vehicles)
• Harassing phone calls/texts/emails
• Vandalism (report only)
• Property damage (report only)
• Threats (report only)
• Burglary, as long as the location was checked and there's no suspect on scene
• Theft – Cell phone, wallet, entering auto, etc. with no suspect present
• Shoplifter (report only)
• Property lost
• Theft or recovery of a stolen vehicle (report only)
• Street hazard
• Fraud/Identity Theft
• Direct traffic
• Assist motorist
• Wires down
• Patrol as often as possible – Low-risk requests/increased visibility
• Property found (excluding firearms)

DeKalb County Police Chief Mirtha Ramos said she plans to implement the new position countywide once effectiveness is evaluated in an attempt to "find innovative ways to address the concerns of the community."

Related: DeKalb Proposes Spending $52.4M In Federal Money On Public Safety