A 1994 report by Research Atlanta on public safety consolidation concluded that procurement, training, and maintenance/repair activities of the Atlanta and Fulton County police departments could and should be merged. The report also concluded that consideration should be govern to the creation of an umbrella administration planning committee to oversee the activities of fire and police services in Atlanta and Fulton County and the nine other municipalities in the county. Many public officials, for a variety of reasons, do not expect any financial savings from consolidation of police services in the short run. Nevertheless, some officials do feel that police operations will become more efficient through consolidation.

To date, public safety expenses account for more than 40 percent of the general operating budgets of the city and county governments. It is estimated that the city of Atlanta spends more than three times the amount that the county spends, per capita, for police services. A study of 48 U.S. cities with populations between 188,000 and 700,000 revealed that Atlanta had the fifth highest per capita police expenditure. In 1993, Charlotte, N.C. had a five percent larger population than Atlanta and spent half as much on police services ($37.6 million compared to $75.2 million) and experienced 20,000 fewer major crimes (50,147 compared to 70,462).

It is clear that the costs for public safety are high, but it is not clear why. We must first identify the reason(s) for high crime rates and the high costs of police services. The citizens of metropolitan Atlanta are demanding more from their police services, and rightfully so. Our ability as a community to achieve improved safety and efficiency requires that we find a more cost-effective way to provide these services. In 1999, Atlanta spent about $201.7 million for public safety and Fulton County spent nearly $35.1 million. We must now explore ways to use our available resources more efficiently and effectively. The solution might be found in consolidation.

There is another important reason why we must consider consolidating our city and county public safety operations: Crime and criminals do not honor governmental boundaries. They use to their own advantage the gaps between the communication systems among our various police departments. Criminals commit a crime in one jurisdiction one day and in another jurisdiction the next day, and the police in neither can see the pattern of criminal conduct. A consolidated approach to crime detection can help combat such occurrences.

One of the reasons that the costs for public safety are so high is because of the City of Atlanta and surrounding counties are duplicating their services. For example, prisoners are fingerprinted and processed for arrest twice: once for apprehending agency and again by the sheriff's staff if they are bound over to court. To resolve this duplication, neighboring public safety agencies should coordinate the development of new data processing systems that track arrests, jail bookings, court dates, convictions, and all data pertaining to the apprehension, incarceration, and prosecution status of criminals. Such steps would result in significant savings to all parties involved.

We have both the opportunity and the obligation to move beyond turf rivalry. City or county boundaries do not bind criminals when they kill and injure our citizens or steal their property. Neither can our responsibility to contain lawlessness be restricted to artificial jurisdictional boundaries.

Furthermore, as former City council President Marvin S. Arrington urged in an August 16, 1995 open letter to elected officials in Atlanta and Fulton County,” We should not consider incorporation and consolidation at the Fulton County line; we should consider organized cooperation among all the police forces in the metropolitan Atlanta area with respect to certain functions. Among others, we should consider and examine the model of Scotland Yard, which is a metropolitan crime investigation prototype. Each of the towns within the London metro area has retained control of their local police (bobbies) who perform routine police functions such as walk beats, direct traffic and give tickets. However, if a significant crime is committed, the metropolitan police are called in. We should do the same.”

In Research Atlanta's 1994 study of consolidation of police and fire services in Atlanta and Fulton County, officials from these agencies suggested that consolidation of some fire and police services would result in better service, primarily better response times for both services in unincorporated Fulton County. Specifically related to police services, the report cited a reduction on duplicative efforts across public safety agencies, courts, and correctional facilities as ample reason to pursue at least partial consolidation. Areas such as communications and management information systems may produce the most savings if consolidated or coordinated across Atlanta and Fulton County.

For example, Fulton County repeats booking and medical assessment of inmates arrested by Atlanta police when the inmate is bound over to the County. There is no direct link of the two computer systems-no means for Fulton County to access information about an inmate from Atlanta, or vice versa. Duplication and paperwork are excessive. One official suggested that the inability to access information across governments limits the quality control of public safety and corrections services within the County. It would be advantageous to police officers, correction officers, and court personnel to track the disposition of an inmate from the time of the first arrest through jail, sentencing, and release.

Other areas considered fertile ground for consolidation in police services include procurement, training, investigations and inspections, public service/education, and vehicle maintenance and repair. As the Research Atlanta report noted, the areas most amenable to consolidation are services that you do not see, such as communications, record management and investigative services. Savings that would follow from consolidation of management information systems alone correlate to the cost savings from reduced personnel needs and efficiency gains of better management of personnel in both organizations.