DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — The DeKalb County Police Department is down nearly 400 officers from where a department that size should be.
DeKalb County has seen a dramatic drop in police officers over the past several years.
The department will close out the year with 728 officers. Jeff Wiggs, with the Fraternal Order of Police, said a department the size of DeKalb should have around 1,200 officers.
He said the county loses recruits after they have gone through the academy.
Wiggs said there are enough officers to patrol the area, but personal interactions with the community are suffering.
“It doesn’t really matter if we’re losing them to corporate or other departments, the fact is we’ve invested in them and we’re losing them because they realize, you know what, I’m not getting pad enough to come in here and basically go from call to call to call. Most officers join the police force because they want to make a difference,” Wiggs said.
Even though the department is short on officers, crime in the county has decreased.