State Rep. Stephanie Benfield is asking residents and neighborhood associations for food donations for the annual appreciation luncheon for the South DeKalb Police Precinct.
We guess the fine Representative feels we can use a free lunch after being furloughed, unlike the commissioners who have their lunch catered on the taxpayer's dime.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
31 comments:
Alpharetta Public Safety Foundation serves 100 dollar a plate dinners to its officers...they even had Herman Cain giving the awards.
http://www.apsfoundation.org/apd-awards-luncheon.html
Did I mention the golf tourney, lobster dinners, Benihana outings, scholarships for officers kids, Etc.
They have several fortune 500 corporations than donate tens of thousands just for their officers needs each year.
O, and an MPO with Alpharetta makes $72,500 min with a take home.
I simply cannot understand why anyone would want to work for such a criminal dump of a county when there are multiple agencies who will pay you the same or more, take home car, far better command staff and city govt that funds and likes its police.
There are many chiefs that would love to hire experienced Dekalb officers into their agency.
Will this representative also be looking for us to volunteer to to staff our own "appreciation event".
Where have I seen this before?
Maybe Occupy Atlanta can spare a few volunteers....it's not like they're tied up at the lieutenant's house...
You know what? I'm tired of hearing about the wonders of Alpharetta. I'm glad you are happy there. You can have your lobster dinners and golf tournaments. I didn't take this job to be bought off by a Fortune 500 Company.
I work for DeKalb because no matter how misguided I feel they may be, or how frustrated I get, the citizens of DeKalb deserve a police force that cares about them just as much as those in the City of Alpharetta. I work for DeKalb because I believe that this is a damn fine department that has a core of people who care about their jobs and the people they serve despite the hard times that they have faced. And you know what? I saw all the appreciation I needed on the face of my victim tonight when I told her that the person who assaulted her had been arrested.
Yes, of course I'm frustrated with the Board of Commissioners and the CEO, and I'm angry about the lack of raises and the furlough days and a lot of the other things that have served to damage morale over the past many years. But I choose to stay and fight, because I'm not in this job for the money, and I don't intend to abandon this county for the first jurisdiction that offers me a shiny car.
If all you see when you look at DeKalb is a "criminal dump of a county" then I'm glad you don't work here. Stay in Alpharetta and keep your opinions to yourself. You're not offering solutions or help, you're just peddling dissent, and I'm sick of hearing about it.
Excuse Me but she is a politician and I dont believe she or any politician has been laid off, furloughed, had a pay cut or her benefits screwed around witn. Tell the selfish bitch to ante up and do the right thing and pay for it herself.
We passed a God damn gas station every 10 yards for 1000 miles, but when you really need one, you end up walking your ass off. This is no way to run a desert!
Anon 10:17, Please go get hired by Alpharetta or where ever. Enjoy your career. There is no need to try and discredit DKPD. We know who we are , what we had to overcome to get this badge, why we are here and what this career is really about. It's clear that you do not.
Anon 10:33, Ms. Benefield has been co-hosting this event for years. For years they have solicited donations. Ms. Benefield and the other volunteers are truely appreciative of the officers at south precinct. Ms. Benefield is probably the only state representative you will see at one of our precinct's. I don't agree with most of her policies but she is far more of a friend to us than any of the north DeKalb policticians.
Thank you Anon 1:32 for being one of the officers who place people before the politics. You have proven that there are still people in the uniform who care about policing. I have heard too many officers complain about crime in their jurisdictions but yet they are police officers. You knew the type of community that your agency served before applying. Rookies always don't get the cushy areas like East Cobb, North Fulton, Sandy Springs, etc to police. I dated a female who was a rookie for Cobb PD and they assigned her first beat to Six Flags Drive-Mableton Pkwy areas. Yes, this is Cobb and she had days where she told me she couldn't even think about lunch due to the call volume (she explained that many officers grab donuts not out of stereotype but its the only thing you got time to eat as you got another call to answer). Sometimes at the end of the shift, you get a call that often requires you stay over. Of course, her colleagues in East Cobb have time to visit businesses, laugh and joke and have time to eat. She didn't complain, she said, I am here to police and improve the community through public safety. She knew it was a thankless job but she loved the look of relief on faces of victims when she arrived on the scene, that was thanks enough for her. Or when she goes to buy coffee and the clerk tells her its on the house and thanks for coming by to give presence. For those of you who want cushy police jobs, just become a mall security or an office building security guard and call it quits.
To agent 99, thank you Chief for your comment.
Well said Agent 99. If you are in police work for the shiny take home and all the neat extras the smaller rich departments offer, then you are probably in police work for the wrong reason.
If you have a passion for police work and the profession, the cars and extras are not that important.
I have worked with the best street hard cops here at DKPD. We are not Mayberry, Alpharetta, or Dunwoody.
There is nothing wrong with wanting to work in a community that has achieved something and that treats you decently. Get the ghetto mentality out of your head and you too can learn to read and write.
Yeah, I'm tired of those pansie, candy ass officers from Alpharetta, etc. that think they do real policing. What do you get an award for in Alpharetta? Let's see, you probably get commendations for giving directions, finding an unforced open door on an alarm and recovering an abandoned stolen vehicle. You're not a real cop, you're a step up from a mall cop. The smaller agencies have always been able to offer a better package than the bigger agencies. But, the bigger agencies offer you more experience, better on the job training and the opportunity to do REAL police work everyday.
Looking forward to volunteering and bringing food. I appreciate the South Precinct officers.
Yeah, I'm tired of those pansie, candy ass officers from Alpharetta, etc. that think they do real policing. What do you get an award for in Alpharetta? Let's see, you probably get commendations for giving directions, finding an unforced open door on an alarm and recovering an abandoned stolen vehicle. You're not a real cop, you're a step up from a mall cop. The smaller agencies have always been able to offer a better package than the bigger agencies. But, the bigger agencies offer you more experience, better on the job training and the opportunity to do REAL police work everyday.
Funny, I remember seeing 4 Alpharetta cars chasing a stolen vehicle down Old National Highway IN ATLANTA!
Dekalb would have terminated the pursuit 3 minutes after it started. Dekalb answers calls, agencies like Alpharetta are proactive. Not the officers fault, your command staff and county leaders suck, ours love us and fund us. If your cool with that then God bless you.
Working Alpharetta or Cobb or whatever doesnt make you some fat lazy cop. It gives proactive officers time to make good cases, trafficking cases, seize cars, do surveillance, etc.
I have great respect for those patrolling high call volume, high crime areas...I did it for 8 years with Atlanta zone 3 and 6 and it was fantastic experience.
I moved to a smaller city for the schools but I enjoy being able to just ask my chief if I can work plain clothes dope for a few weeks or spending the time to work informants, etc.
To each his own.
I understand and respect officers who want to work in Dekalb, but I dont understand why they tolerate working for a corrupt county commission which craps all over them.
DeKalb cops are just mobile report takers these days. The real ones retired or left long ago. They have no idea how surveillance, search warrants, and case building happens because as you stated, command staff just want citation revenue so they can steal it out of Recorder's Court. Someday someone will look into the narcotics safe runs and record keeping to see where millions more was stolen. Get out of DeKalb while you can if you're serious about learning your profession.
Mr. blogger, please make a posting asap warning Officers about imeadiate prosecution by our DA Office involving excessive force. As a result of the news coverage of the fiascoe involving the two arrested Officers at South defense attorneys have caught wind. In an attempt to get their clients off they are piggy backing off that incident. Instead of our Chief just disciplining the Officers and chosing to arrest them Im affraid it is going to have a major domino effect. Tucker Precinct already had an Officer stripped of his gun and badge and placed on screening over a UOF that happened several months previous. He is more than likely going to be prosecuted by our DA. Please spread the disturbing news.
Hate to say it boys..Dekalb ain't what it use to be and we no longer have bragging rights...So I wouldn't be coming down on ANY other agency. We can no longer hold a candle to them....Sorry if the truth hurts..
It's obvious the small agencies have nothing to do. Their brass might wanna check their internet usage and see why their on the Dekalb officers blog, specifically on food for south precinct, lol. Learn from the best.
Worked for DeKalb for 10 years, 2000 or so badge #. Was on duty to watch 3 fellow officers killed in the line of duty, while the BOC never gave a shit on the seriousness and danger we were involved in every day. I got a raise in 2003 when I made MPO went to CID in 2006 and got a take home car, and left in 2009 to a smaller agency of about 150 sworn personnel. This smaller agency took careful consideration of what I was bringing to the table. When I left DeKalb after being there 10 years my salary was 52K. I started day one with a new agency and they started me out at 48K with a car and benefits DeKalb Officers could only dream of. Lets compare apples to oranges. In DeKalb County I was just a badge number that was unappreciated every single day. Administration didnt care about crime rates, all the care about is tickets and revenue for the county. I currently write between 1 and 3 tickets a week and average 1 or two arrests a week. God forbid we have two residential burglaries in the same neighborhood within a two week period, if so we put together a serious operational plan which consists of 8-10 officers working plain clothes in unmarked vehicles for overtime, until that person is arrested. That is the true answer for combating crime. I have been gone from DeKalb for three years and im guessing the answer your bosses give you for reducing crime is more and more traffic stops, blue light blitz specials. What a joke. If anyone believes that is the answer they are sadly mistaking. I hated that I had to leave DeKalb because I worked with some of the best officers but I could only take so much. My brother is a 2800 badge number and tells me stories that dont even surprise me at all. Him and 4 of his classmates are currently in the hiring process with my department and they cant wait to turn in their two week notices.
what are you talking about what we have to overcome for these badges? I used to think the same thing when I got hired. Have you looked around roll calls lately? Badges are being handed out like candy because the shithole BOC makes it impossible to keep good officers. They can barely get people to wear the uniform and drive police cars with valid drivers licenses!! Anyone hired in the last 3 years, half of them are just thugs, which I agree isnt fair because some good officers got hired. I was told during 2007-2010 criminal histories were over looked on purpose during the hiring process as long as they werent convicted felon's. Good Job TEBO
Oop... I almost forgot. I won't be able to make it fellas. Veronica and I trying this new fad called uh, jogging. I believe it's jogging or yogging. it might be a soft j. I'm not sure but apparently you just run for an extended period of time. It's supposed to be wild.
As a 20 yr vet who has worked in the "ghetto" I have found the majority of residents of south DeKalb to be far more appreciative of our work than citizens on the north side of the county. Sorry but no one in Dunwoody ever stopped me to tell me to tell me about the prayer vigil their church had for us. As a vet of this department I also say I HOLD NO GRUDGE against these SMALLER DEPARTMENTS and THEIR OFFICERS. They do the work their community ask of them. It's just not my style of police work. To those ex-DKPD and others that come to this blog to complain about DKPD/DeKalb County/the politicians or even the residents by comparing them to your utopia. You have done a dis-service to your new department/employer/it's elected officials and the residents of your area. Again, if you left DKPD for what ever reason, have a good career. Ask one of your new coworkers and you might find your not on their dinner party list if all you can do is rehash you spite for DKPD. After reading a couple of other poster's comments I really don't think this job is for you, especially at a smaller department. To MS. BENEFIELD and ALL the VOLUNTEERS, THANK YOU.
Its time to be thankful and time to be happy. Life sucks with all of the bad shit we all go thru every day, like dealing with nasty perps, rotten pay and benefits, crooked policitians and the like, lousy weather, inept equipment, and other types of shit.
Christmas season is upcoming and we have to be thankful for somethings like having our families and our freedom.
When January 1st comes around, we will have a whole new year ahead of us to continue the bitching left over from the previous year.
Carry on people !!!
Hey idiots from the little agencies. I am retired from DeKalb. I Worked South Precinct for the last 10 years of my 28 year career and loved it.
I receive $60,000 a year for the rest of my life plus medical benefits for my wife and family. DeKalb still has the best retirement benefits in state until The BOC changes it.
But they cannot touch my pension because Dekalb's pension is 100% funded.
Face it nobody handles the dangers that an average DeKalb Cop handles, especially South, Tucker or East Precinct officers. These officers handle real crime with real danger every hour. So I dont want to hear about these new small cities. None of them have a decent pension. As in none. So please stop the BS.
The average Dekalb officer does 10 times the work than any officer in a small agency.
And by the way, the County insurance paid over $200,000 in medical bills for my wife who had a serious illness. Can the small agency really handle that kind of of situation if 20 different dependants had that issue. I doubt it. DeKalb's Police Budget is over 50 million a year not counting personel costs.
Does DeKalb have problems. Yes we do and we will always have problems.
So please if want to pretend to be real police officer, do so on your own time and your own blog. Leave the real police alone and let them do their jobs that you were afraid to do.
I'm not a Chief, the Chief, or any other brass. I'm simply someone who still likes their job. If I was, I'd have posted anonymously rather than choosing a moniker which so obviously reflects my gender.
I am pleased for anyone who finds happiness in their workplace, no matter where they work (even Alpharetta), but I still find plenty of merit in working for DeKalb, and I'm tired of hearing from disgruntled ex-employees who no longer have any power to effect change in the county where I work.
Anon 3:59, I agree with pretty much everything you have to say.
To that, I add the following quote:
“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances..." -- Viktor Frankl
If you're miserable, it's because you have chosen to be miserable. You are letting your attitude be controlled by the BOC or other outside influences. You can't control what's happening around you, but you can control what you choose to think and how you choose to act.
No matter what happens in the future, I will be grateful for the experience that I have gained in DeKalb and the people with whom and for whom I have worked. The BOC can pound sand, for all I care. I refuse to let them affect how I do my job.
Anon @ 10:56 , Dude you need another line of work before you have a heart attack. Capt. D's is hiring it's a great little seafood place.
Dear Agent 99. I'm glad to have you working in my county. Wish there were more of you! Last year, I went a ride-along with Doraville PD twice. Pretty Uneventful both times.
Then I went on a Ride-Along with a Dekalb County Officer. I was Astounded at the number of calls we had to go to. One after the next; and that was in the prestigious North Precint. Can't Imagine what the volume or type of calls in the other less attractive areas of Dekalb are like. Thanks
My sister is a manager for Capt D's.................makes $65K a year.................
Not bad....
A Peace Officer's Prayer
In Memory of Derwin Brown
Elected Sheriff of DeKalb County, August 8, 2000. Felled by cowardly assassins on December 15, 2000.
Our Dear Heavenly Father, bless guide and protect us who have chosen to protect and serve.
Make us decent, orderly, appreciative, useful, courageous and kind in the work of the day.
May we not weaken our spirit by boasting or play the fool by lying.
Teach us to observe the rules of the game; to come through defeat victoriously, and out of victory unspoiled.
For my own sake and the sake of my brothers and sisters keep us wholesome and cheerful through the task of the day.
Should the Devil of error attempt to snare us, give us the wisdom to elude him.
That greed and malice, envy and hatred have played a lesser part of our thoughts.
Bring us home each day with the knowledge that we made a difference for the good of mankind.
And with days end may we find rest knowing that any weariness is a result of our tireless good works.
Amen
Adapted from a Masonic Prayer by Jerry Myer Jackson Sr. City of Atlanta Police Officer 1935-1960
Copywright 2005
Instead of going into the Sixth Grade of Elementary School "Big Jerry" went to work at Atlantic Steel. He worked there for over two years and then King Plow for over seven. I have a letter from My King reccomending my father for a job with the City of Atlanta Police Dept dated 1933. Mr King said my father was sober, worked ther seven years and never missed a day.
Release of Copyright given to DeKalb Officers Speak.
Be safe and honorable in all that you do and have a Merry Christmas a Happy Holidays sincerely, Jerry Myer Jackson Jr.
This prayer was on the back of my fathers City of Atlanta Police Business Card along with our home phone number.
no free lunches you bums!
Isn't EVERYTHING catered to the highmen in Dekalb County on a tax payers dime... wait no. My bad,they use the money they don't have to spend when they give people furlough days...
Post a Comment