Police Car Take Home Policy Changed

Duluth officers now allowed to drive their police vehicles home beyond the previous four-mile limit from the police department.

The Duluth City Council Monday (Jan. 14) expanded the range that Duluth Police officers now will be allowed to take their police cars home when they’re off duty. Officers were only allowed to take their police vehicles home if they live within four statue miles of the Duluth Police Department. This has been expanded now to 26 statute miles. Duluth Police Chief Randy Belcher requested the policy change. The council had asked for additional information including where officers lived at the December meeting. City Manager Tim Shearer had initially presented Belcher’s request since the chief was on vacation at that time. Belcher cited police vehicle take home policies in effect for other nearby cities:  Seven Duluth police officers live in the …

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Duluth Police Lt. Bill Stevens Retires After 19 Years

Stevens plans to continue volunteering with Operation One Voice, which assists families of fallen and wounded Special Operations Forces.

Lt. Bill Stevens, who led the Duluth Police Department’s Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Division, has retired after 19 years with the Duluth Police Department. His retirement, which was effective Dec. 19, concluded 36 years of continuous public safety service in Gwinnett County. Besides his employment with Duluth PD (1993-2012), he served with Gwinnett Fire & Emergency Services (1976-2006), and the City of Buford Volunteer Fire Department (1977-1980). He also was a member of the Fulton County Sheriff’s Reserve (1990-1993). “My time with the city of Duluth has been very enjoyable, and I owe the credit to successes within Community Policing to Chief Randy Belcher, who believed in the work we did and trusted my ‘thinking out of …

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Roswell, Duluth Search for Bank Robber

This information was supplied by the Roswell and Duluth Police Departments.

An unknown individual is believed to be responsible for two bank robberies in Kroger grocery this year, including one in Roswell and another in Duluth. The individual first robbed the Suntrust Bank inside a Kroger in Roswell on Jan. 17, 2012. The second robbery occurred on Dec. 8, 2012, at a Fifth Third Bank located inside the Kroger store on Peachtree Industrial Boulevard in Duluth. If you have any information or similar incidents involving this subject you are asked to contact Detective Joel Ruff with the Roswell Police Department at 770-640-4494, or Detective Heather Kish with the Duluth Police Department at 678-512-3704.

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Duluth PD Collecting New Baby Items

Donations can vary from clothing and toys to basic necessities like diapers and wipes.

The Duluth Police Department is collecting new, unwrapped baby items to donate to Family Promise of Gwinnett this holiday season. The items can vary from clothing and toys to basic necessities like diapers and wipes. Family Promise of Gwinnett provides 24-hour shelter, meals, transportation, and supportive services, including job training, and employment services, to homeless families. Items should be dropped off at the Duluth Police Department at 3276 Buford Hwy. by Dec. 17 to ensure Christmas delivery.

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Police Car Take Home Policy Debated

Further discussion slated on expanding distance Duluth police officers live in order to take home police cars from four to 25 statute miles.

Members of the Duluth City Council debated whether to modify the policy that allows police officers to take home police cars at their work session Monday night. The issue is expected to be discussed further at the December council meeting or next work session in January. The Duluth Police Department currently has a vehicle take home policy that allows officers to drive their police vehicles home as long as they live within four statute miles of the department. Expanding the allowable distance to 25 statute miles has been proposed. Councilman Billy Jones said he had suggested the change as a benefit to the city’s police officers. In talking to the city’s police officers, this is a major issue, Jones said. “They see all the other [police] …

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Special Operations Forces Run Starting in Duluth

Twenty-four law enforcement and military officials to run 550 miles beginning at Duluth City Hall Tuesday, Nov. 6, to honor fallen Navy heroes. Come out to give the runners a rousing send-off!

Operation One Voice and the Duluth Police Department will host the 8th Special Operations Forces Run Tuesday, Nov. 6. The run, involving 24 law enforcement and military officials, will start at 8 a.m. at Duluth City Hall and continue around-the-clock in a relay fashion until the runners reach MacDill AFB, FL, about 550 miles away.  The runners include representatives of the Tallahassee Police Department and Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Department, U.S. federal agents, state troopers, military Special Operations Forces from Tampa, FL, and Naval Special Warfare from Little Creek, VA.  The run is “a great opportunity for different communities and law enforcement agencies to come together in support of our fallen military,” said Duluth Police Lt…

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Distraction Burglaries Targeting Elderly

A suspect usually approaches a female victim believed to be home alone and asks her to go into the back yard for a seemingly legitimate reason. A second suspect enters through the front door and burglarizes the home, stealing mainly jewelry.

Gwinnett Police are currently investigating a series of bold distraction-style burglaries targeting elderly victims -- usually women home alone in the daytime. Cpl. Jake Smith of the Gwinnett Police Department reported a number of incidents like this have occurred recently in Gwinnett County. Several other metro Atlanta agencies are investigating similar cases, he said.   Duluth Police Det. Jimmy Purvis recently received a report of a similar incident occurring at a home on Davenport Road in the city limits. The suspects in these cases target elderly victims, usually women, who they believe are home alone, Smith said. One of the suspects, usually described as a Hispanic or Slavic male of average height and weight, approaches the victim for…

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Duluth PD Sponsoring Honor Ride

Twenty-four cyclists to ride in 'leapfrog' bicycling event from Virginia Beach to Duluth.

Duluth Police officers will be participating in the Operation One Voice Honor Ride this week. A team of 24 law enforcement officers, firefighters and members of U.S. Special Operations Forces will ride in the 60-mile “leapfrog” bicycling event starting in Virginia Beach, VA, Tuesday, Sept. 4, and ending in Duluth Friday, Sept. 7. The Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office and Georgia State Patrol will take also part in this year’s Honor Ride, according to a press release. Lt. Bill Stevens, Master Patrol Officer Bobby Johnson and Sgt. Steve Daniels will be riding for the Duluth Police Department, which is sponsoring the event. “The Honor Ride’s goal is to honor those members of the public safety community that sacrificed their lives on Sept. 11, …

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Faye Edmundson

9:46 am on Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Keep us posted, Lt. Stevens, on your progress.   more ›

Intra-Agency Drug, Vice Task Force Proposed

Duluth PD and six other Gwinnett agencies would participate in new task force as a result of the SDS settlement.

Duluth and Suwanee police departments and several other Gwinnett law enforcement agencies are planning to form an inter-agency drug and vice task force as a result of the Service Delivery Strategy Settlement. The Gwinnett Metro Task Force would investigate and prosecute the offenders through mutual aid where violations occur within the named cities in the agreement. Any case that occurs outside the city or leads to violations outside the city will be turned over the Gwinnett County Police. The cases made by the Gwinnett Metro Task Force would be turned over to the appropriate court system. -- Do you think this task force is a good idea? Tell us in the comments below. Other agencies that would be involved are the Lawrenceville PD, Lilburn …

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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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