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Peachtree Corners resident urges city to form its own police department
Summary
At a city council meeting, resident Marilyn Tierney urged Peachtree Corners to create a municipal police force, citing local break-ins, calls she made to neighboring departments and concerns about Gwinnett County Police being stretched thin.
Marilyn Tierney, a Peachtree Corners resident, told the City Council she supports creating a Peachtree Corners police department and asked the council to consider moving forward with formation efforts.
Tierney, who gave her address as 3920 Royal Pennant Court in the Amberfield neighborhood, said she had attended recent presentations on the proposal and had conducted informal research, including contacting nearby police departments. “The people who are in favor of opening our own police force seem to have done research, have facts, reasons for why they feel that way,” she said. “From what I’ve seen…they are stretched awfully thin.”
Tierney said she called “the 11 police departments that are directly around us or close by” and spoke with several captains and officers. She said most departments she contacted were “fully staffed” or missing only one or two officers; two departments she spoke with use part-time officers for park patrols. She also referenced a recent presentation by the city’s marshal and city manager, which she described as informative.
Her remarks tied the concern to local incidents. Tierney cited recent vehicle break-ins in Peachtree Station and a separate break-in along Scotts Mill Road, and said she has received CrimeWatch emails reporting thefts and shoplifting in the 5100–5500 block area of Peachtree Corners Parkway. “It just seems like crime is creeping in,” she said, while also saying she did not intend any derogatory comment about the Gwinnett County Police and called their officers “a wonderful group.”
Her statement was made during the public-comment portion of the meeting; no council response initiating formal action on police formation was recorded in the transcript. The council then proceeded to consideration of the consent agenda and other business.
Tierney’s public comment is the only recorded public speaker on this topic at the meeting. The record shows community concern about local property crimes and interest from at least one resident in exploring a municipal police department as a possible response.
