Duluth COPS Officers Patrolling on Bikes

Duluth COPS officers are patrolling city streets, parks and trails on bikes now that school’s out for the summer. During the rest of the year, officers assigned to Community Oriented Police Services are busy enforcing school bus safety, mentoring and teaching at schools in the city, and traveling to schools throughout Georgia to present teen driver safety programs. During summer months, the officers shift their attention (and muscles) to patrol on bicycles throughout the city, according to Lt. Bill Stevens, commander of the Duluth Police Department's COPS Division. While bike patrol is an ideal method for community policing, bikes are stealthy and useful in apprehending criminals, he said. Officer Bobby Johnson, center, and Sgt. Steve …

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Operation Drive Smart Funds Axed

Duluth Police Department COPS seeking three $15,000 sponsors to continue the teen driving program locally and statewide.

For the past 10 years or so, Duluth Police Lt. Bill Stevens has coordinated and managed the Operation Drive Smart program for teen drivers at high schools in Gwinnett County and throughout Georgia. He was recently notified that the state had eliminated funding for Drive Smart, jeopardizing the program for next year. Drive Smart received $39,400 in 2012 to present a minimum of programs at 15 schools, but actually plans to visit 16 to 18 schools, Stevens said. The program has received about that same amount every year for the past decade from the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, he said. An initial grant of $5,000 in 1999 was used to develop Operation Drive Smart with student input at Duluth High School, Stevens said Over a 10-year …

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